


Summertime

by VelvetSky



Series: Life Can Be Crazy [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Beaches, Camping, F/M, Fluff, Lots of Babies, Minor Jane Foster/Thor, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Minor Wanda Maximoff/Vision, Vacations, pools, summer fun, very little plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-20 01:31:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 25,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15523110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetSky/pseuds/VelvetSky
Summary: Twelve years of summers for Steve, Darcy, and Bucky.





	1. Tropical Island

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Cool for the Summer - A Darcyland Vacation Challenge. The theme is Summer Vacation.   
> Day 1 Prompt: Tropical Island
> 
> I’m doing this with all prompts connected. Each prompt being the summer the year after the previous one. So it’ll cover 12 years, assuming I manage to finish them all. I’m working on Day 6 now, so fingers crossed. This also technically follows a story I already posted. So same verse or series or whatever you want to call it.
> 
> Also unbetaed, cause that’s just how it is. So any chaos or disasters are entirely my own making. This series is pretty much just fluff with very little plot. And I’m just rolling with the comicbook level crazy stuff here. So if that’s not your thing, skip this.

Darcy had fallen into a relationship with Steve and Bucky rather quickly after working the job in the Alps for a few weeks, just about three months earlier. They had taken a couple days after the mission to relax in Switzerland, before heading home. Back at the compound, Darcy had found she rarely slept in her own quarters there any longer. Steve and Bucky shared a two-bedroom space with lots of room, and she was there most nights. Two of the few nights she hadn’t slept over at their place had wound up with the two of them knocking on her door upon return from a mission and then not leaving her room for two days.

Summer was in full swing as July was nearing an end, and August was nearly upon them, and things seemed calm on the Avengers front. So, barring any grand emergencies, they decided to take a little vacation. Tony had a large property on Maui, right on the water, lots of land and a beach, with a collection of buildings to house everyone. There was even room to land the Quinjets.

Hawaii was always one of those places Darcy wanted to visit, but as she got older, she wondered about just how much sunblock she would need to use to not get sunburn being there. It was a good deal, but it was also worth it. They’d only been there a couple of days so far and Jane had already gotten to take a trip up to the Haleakala Observatory the previous evening. Darcy and several others had tagged along and it had been a fantastic night looking at the stars while Jane nerd-ed out with other scientists.

Today had been all kinds of things, there had been a nice breakfast followed by a hike in the morning, a long and lazy lunch at the beach in the early afternoon with some locals who shared stories and lore of the island. The area was a quiet one, not teeming with tourists, on the eastern end of the island, near Hana. Most of the people they saw around were locals, not other tourists. Late afternoon had turned into surfing and sunbathing. Darcy had plowed through most of her book by the time the guys came in from surfing. Then everyone moved out to the big patio with the fire pit for dinner and sunset.

There was just a faint glow left on the horizon and the first few stars were making their appearances. Darcy had Steve and Bucky on either side of her, relaxing on the curved outdoor sofa by the fire pit. The evening was so warm, they hardly needed the fire, but some people were keen to roast marshmallows and other such things.

“Has everyone been enjoying their first few days here?” Tony had stood up and quickly called attention to himself.

There was a choir of ‘yes’. Thor’s voice carried a little above everyone else’s as his hammer spun up into the air then landed back in his hand. “Great battles should always be balanced with great celebrations and relaxation.”

“I agree. We haven’t had enough celebration or relaxation lately, and we’re going to start making up for that.” Tony glanced at Steve.

“I’m not arguing the relaxation or celebration ideas.” Steve knew his reputation was one of a workaholic, but that had really only been because there had been a lot to do, and not much else for him to do. He’d disregarded most of his notions of a life beyond Captain America until Bucky surfaced. It was also around that time he’d met Sam, and he suddenly had friends and interests beyond Avenging and working for Shield, which had gone all sideways anyway. Despite having pieces of a life, the reputation had seemed to stick anyway.

“Good, it’s decided then, we’ll make more time for these things.” They usually had downtime between big threats. Tony would spend whole months just fiddling with his new ideas, and getting whatever time alone he could with Pepper, given her busy schedule. But he wasn’t fully convinced Steve did anything other than monitor for oncoming issues. And maybe someone, Rhodey, had suggested Tony drowning in tinkering was just another form of working all the time, so he felt compelled to actually vacation, and it was just more fun to drag everyone else along for the ride.

For his part, Rhodey was thoroughly enjoying his free Hawaiian vacation. He held up his bottle of beer for a toast. “Here, here! Cheers!”

Everyone seemed to echo the cheers and clinked bottles or glasses with the couple of people nearest them. Darcy chuckled a bit. “I’ll definitely drink to that.” She followed with a long drink from her wine glass.

Steve’s lips brushed the pulse of her neck the moment she finished her drink. He hadn’t always been sure about vacations. He’d grown up in a place and time where people like him didn’t get vacations. Even if he or his mother had the time, they never had the money to go far or do anything more than spend an afternoon doing something other than working or tending the apartment. The only time they rested was when they were sick, and not even always then. Since connecting with Darcy a few months earlier, he was finding he had a desire to take a little time out from working or doing other tasks he felt like he ought to be doing to simply be with her. Tony had first mentioned the notion of an 'Avengers Vacation’ and Steve wasn’t so sure until it was made clear that was just the name of the venture, but that the whole extended crew that worked with them was invited along, which included Darcy.

He didn’t linger too long on her neck, just enough to make her tingle all over, before leaning back into the couch again. Darcy smirked at him and gave his knee a squeeze. “You really willing to be roped into more vacations and relaxation?”

His hand ran up her back into her hair. “If it involves you? Absolutely.”

Darcy looked over at Bucky, he had seemed a little more ready to jump on the chance to slow down and relax but she wasn’t completely sure where he stood on more frequent relaxation. He’d been holding her hand for a while, ever since they’d finished dinner perhaps an hour ago. She felt him squeeze softly when she smiled at him.

“I’m all for relaxing and enjoying any time that doesn’t demand we fight something.” Bucky accepted the fighting as part of life, he was willing to jump in and help whenever the situation called for it. Partly to make up for the damage he’d done as the Winter Soldier, and partly because he didn’t like seeing others get hurt. But he didn’t itch for the fight. He was more than happy to get some fresh air and just breathe for a while.

Growing up, Darcy had always loved summer vacation. Not that her family went many places. Most years it simply meant a couple of months without school, so she could sleep in and stay up later and spend her day playing or reading or doing whatever fun thing she enjoyed. Her parents couldn’t really afford a lot of family vacations, and her folks had divorced when she was young, which only seemed to serve to decrease the number of vacations to visit family from every couple years to several years in between. The idea of even every couple of years getting to have an Avengers sponsored vacation sounded nice. “Good, because I think I could get used to this sort of thing.”

“I think I could too. Beautiful woman, beautiful scenery, my closest friends, fun activities, no one trying to kill anyone.” Steve’s soft smile turned into a grin as Bucky chuckled.

Everyone had begun chatting in little groups. Jane and Thor were looking up at the stars. Tony, Rhodey, and Bruce were looking at something on a tablet while Pepper and Maria seemed to shake their heads and laugh.

“S'mores!!” Clint shouted, he appeared to have an arrow full of toasted marshmallows, while Nat had the chocolate and graham crackers waiting for them.

That seemed to gather almost everyone’s attention back to the center of the group.


	2. Interdimensional Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 Prompt: Interdimensional summer

Jane had been working on trying to unlock the secrets of how the Bifrost Bridge worked ever since Thor first came to Earth. She was getting ever closer to a breakthrough. She was testing miniature versions, seeing if she could transport a small object to another realm and then bring it back. She’d had moderate success. But one wanted to be sure when sending something to another realm, some of the things she hadn’t gotten back, and a few Thor had said didn’t quite arrive at the places Jane had been aiming for.

Darcy had not expected that experiment to consume her summer, but that it did. Tony had set up another Avengers Vacation a few weeks earlier, but Jane had been too entrenched in her work to want to go, which had translated to Darcy had to stay and help her, while nearly everyone else went to Hawaii, again. Even Thor had gone, though he’d dropped by several times to check on Jane. Steve and Bucky had gone but came back after only a week away. They said they missed Darcy, and it wasn’t the same without her. And they spent enough time away from her because of missions, they didn’t want to be away from her for their vacation time. That had made her heart melt just a bit, but it also made her wish she could be going on vacation with her boyfriends again because the past year’s vacation had been wonderful.

The device was only the size of a table lamp. Jane had been experimenting using things like distinctive looking rocks, glasses, plates, things of that nature, so how it managed to malfunction and send three people surfing through space and time, Darcy had no idea. Jane apparently did, but her explanation was full of words Darcy didn’t know, and only Thor seemed to follow. Steve and Bucky had looked as confused as Darcy felt. All she did know was the ensuing journey had felt like weeks maybe even months time was rather fuzzy, though they landed back in their world only a few days later. And along the way, they had passed through a whole slew of other worlds and places, places that weren’t even planets, but weren’t the vacuum of space either, thankfully, since Darcy didn’t figure she could survive such a place.

The first few stops were almost ordinary. Earths much like their own with small distinctions in history, one so minute they weren’t really sure what made the world different, there was the suggestion that the date of the first telephone call differed by just one day. The most different one had no superheroes at all, though characters that seemed much like them existed as fictional stories told in print and film, it was a bit strange to them. Then there was a world that seemed devoid of any civilization. There was no knowing what the world was. They’d slept in the grass, fortunately, whatever world it was, it felt like a mild summer, and there were no aggressive animals that were a threat to their safety. There was also a rather bright moon to keep the night from being pitch black. They caught fish to eat, and there were berries of some sort, similar to blueberries, that Steve and Bucky determined were edible and not harmful. Darcy was glad to leave that world though, she was not cut out for an un-modern life. She may have wished briefly to go back there though when a couple of worlds later they spent what felt like a whole day running from some dinosaur type creature. She did not enjoy living in Jurassic Park. But perhaps it was exactly what she needed to appreciate the next place they wound up.

The next place was like space, but not space? There were what looked like stars and space all around, and a sort of lightly floaty sensation. However, there seemed to be air to breathe, that or somehow they didn’t need to breathe in that place, either way, it was strange, to say the least. They also weren’t so floaty as to drift away from each other or anything else, there seemed to be some sort of mild gravity, it just wasn’t like anything on Earth. And food seemed to appear as needed and tasted like the best version of whatever food they had each thought of. Any need to use the bathroom seemed to just resolve the moment the sensation started, that disturbed Darcy a bit, but seeing as there was no bathroom or toilet, it seemed just as well. She never seemed to feel dirty either, again, just as well since there was no shower. They did sleep, and it was perhaps the best sleep she’d ever had. It was hard to tell how long they were there since there was no night and day, and Darcy’s watch seemed to have no meaning there. Bucky said it seemed like three days, which might have been about right for how many times they thought about things to eat and how many times they slept. They even got comfortable enough to have a little floaty sex, that was something else. Something she wished they could do on Earth, but gravity didn’t allow for that.

Then they had a run of other worlds. Places that were not Earth in any dimension, but some were fairly Earth-like. The inhabiting beings varied, some were so similar they could walk among them without being noticed to be different, while others they had to hide until they jumped to another place because they were not friendly toward human or other looking creatures. After one more alternate Earth, two very alien worlds, and another place that the best words Darcy had for it were strange, mystical, and indescribable, they landed on a very Earth-like world with very human-like people. It was not Earth though, or not any Earth that resembled their own in its society or called itself Earth or its people humans. Though somehow they understood the language, which had been a constant on their journey. Darcy wasn’t sure what accounted for that. There was a lot of nature and focus on being one with the energy of the land. They found a nice place to stay and food to eat, and it felt like a kind of relaxing vacation for a few days. The guys were keeping the brave faces on, but Darcy could tell they were starting to get a little nervous about how they were going to get home, too.

“I wish I could tell if Jane was getting close to solving how to get us home. Or at least that they could locate where we were, and maybe Thor could come pick us all up or something.” She had laid back on the oversized bed in the room after they came in from a walk and kicked off her shoes.

“Me too. I kind of enjoyed it at first, the first few worlds were odd but fun. Kind of like a good sci-fi novel. And I’m still intrigued by the different places, but it would be nice to just go home. I’m mostly just tired of the bouncing from place to place.” Bucky wanted to go back to their home largely for Darcy, he could tell she was a bit distressed by the duration away and worrying about getting back home to the place and people she knew. Bucky had, of course, made some other friends, people he’d like to return to also, but he’d have managed if he’d become stuck somewhere in most of the worlds they’d wound up in, especially the ones that were just alternate Earths, or worlds like the one they were in currently. He’d spent almost seventy years brainwashed, he’d started life over with nothing already, he at least had Steve and Darcy if they never made it home from here. But he didn’t want Darcy to go through that. He shrugged off his coat and slipped out of his shoes before rolling onto the bed next to Darcy. The one nice thing that had held true so far, was that any article of clothing they were wearing at first transit came with them, as did any others that they acquired and were wearing at the time of a shift. It was like they somehow became marked to them that way. He’d have to ask Jane about the science of that, if they ever made it home.

Steve had gone through waking up seventy years in the future and making a new life. He could do it, it didn’t mean he wanted to have to do it again. Even with Darcy and Bucky along to soften the blow, he really wanted to go back to the world he knew, with all the people he knew. He did figure Jane and Thor would sort it out, he just didn’t know how long it would take, and he could see the nervousness in Darcy’s eyes whenever she wasn’t fully distracted by him and Bucky. “Same. I do hope Jane will figure this out soon and get us back home. I miss it.”

When Steve sat down on the edge of the bed to pull off his shoes, Darcy reached out to gently rub his back. She saw the heavy shrug of his shoulders as he inhaled and exhaled. The contact with them both helped ease her tensions, and she could see it doing the same for them. They both rolled into her, tangling their limbs around her and nuzzling their noses in her hair. She couldn’t have climbed out if she wanted to. She didn’t want to though, she felt her happiest and safest pressed between Steve and Bucky.

They soon nodded off together that way and when they woke, they found themselves laying on the floor of Jane’s lab, with Jane, Thor, Bruce, and Erik all standing around looking at them. The shoes and clothes they hadn’t been wearing laying around in the best approximation of where they’d been in relation to them when they had jumped dimensions.

They quickly untangled, and Darcy jumped to her feet and hugged Jane. “You finally brought us back!”

Jane laughed, hugging Darcy. “Yeah, sorry it took a few days.”

“A few days?” Steve’s eyebrow was up as he got to his feet.

“Was it not a few days for you?” Thor’s tone was serious, but not surprised.

“It was not. It felt like weeks, maybe months. It was hard to keep track. We jumped around so many different places, and it felt like days at least spent in most of them.” Darcy’s voice had taken on a dramatic tone, though she was grinning from ear to ear just knowing she was back. Bucky had wrapped his arms around her from behind as soon as she’d let go of Jane.

“We did try over a dozen times to bring you back before you arrived.” Bruce chimed in.

“It was twenty-three tries, yes?” Steve had definitely been counting. He remembered them all.

“Yes. Once you guys get some rest, we’d be interested in hearing about the places you went and your experiences.” Bruce nodded and appeared to ponder just what the possibilities could have been.

“I’d be happy to share, after some rest.” Steve didn’t mind sharing his experiences for science.

“Sure, I think we all want to contribute to science if we can.” Bucky smiled, glancing at Darcy who made an exaggerated eye roll and smiled at Jane.

“I always help science, even if I don’t want to. Some rest beforehand would be appreciated though.” Darcy squeezed Bucky’s arms around her a little and leaned back into him more. Happy to sort of be held up for the moment.

Jane was still smiling. “Go rest. I’ll be ready to take notes tomorrow.”

They did go get some rest, along with a nice dinner and a long shower. It made them all feel a bit more normal after. They talked briefly about the adventure but saved most of the recounting for those who hadn’t lived it. Jane and Bruce were fascinated. Thor laughed a lot, seemingly familiar with a few of the odd worlds they had wound up on. One more thing about their journey, when they returned, Darcy was pregnant.


	3. Stay-cation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 Prompt: Stay-cation
> 
> This particular chapter is full of appearances by other characters.

It had been a busy year for the Avengers. Big threats that had taken Steve and Bucky away for weeks and had sent the world into chaos for a little while. New team members joined the crew as well as new friends and associates who may not have joined the team, may not have even been of their world, but were now people they could call on if ever another world threatening foe appeared. Plus, there was Darcy's pregnancy, which was about eight months along when everything went to hell in the world. And that didn't even rank on her list of oddities with her pregnancy.

Bruce indicated early on that he thought there were some genetic oddities, but they wouldn't know what until they could do more tests. That had not helped Darcy sleep for a week. The genetic oddity turned out to be that the genetics were somehow that of not two, but three people. All three of their genetics, her, Steve, and Bucky, were accounted for. Bruce figured their conception occurring in another realm, possibly in that weird floaty realm of space, and then traveling through dimensions when pregnant may have caused some strange qualities in the pregnancy. The next oddity was the number of babies. Not that people didn't ever manage to have multiples on Earth without any outside involvement, but Darcy was twenty-nine for the duration of the pregnancy, her thirtieth birthday occurring at the beginning of the summer, so she wasn't in the over thirty-five crowd that was more likely to have multiples, nor was she aware of any family history of such things. In fact, as far as she'd been able to figure her own family tree, there was not a single instance of multiple births in it.

Words like mystical and strange were soon being applied to her pregnancy. Darcy was not amused, especially when no one could seem to determine how many babies there were. The collective of top-tier specialists Tony called in said whatever babies were appearing, they seemed healthy and to be developing normally, but that didn't help her much when one visit suggested three babies, another suggested six, another said ten, and then five, then one, and so on. Every checkup, the number was different, and she about choked the time one of the doctors got to twelve, she asked them to stop counting and hoped and prayed to any and all gods and energy there was in the universe there were not double-digit babies in her belly. She was really hoping it wasn't actually more than two. She really didn't want to push out more than two in one go. And she really wasn't that big a person, she was kind of afraid of how big she would get if she had anything more than twins. Darcy started worrying that somehow either she was having some kind of phantom readings of parallel worlds babies, or that the baby or babies weren't even existing in their world completely. It was scary, whatever it was.

She was sizing normal for a singleton pregnancy as she started to show with the arrival of the second trimester, however, still no stabilization or clarity on the baby count. Over the course of the second trimester, the number at least seemed to not go over three or four. She was still concerned by the fact that it still was changing, and the genders of the babies seemed to keep changing as well, as if they weren't even the same babies each time. One checkup showed all boys, another all girls, then a mix, and round and round again. She didn't know how to prepare. Considering it was her body that was the site of this oddity, Steve and Bucky seemed even more worried than she was. They all just hoped at the end there would be at least one real, actual, healthy baby they could raise.

In the end, she gave birth to six babies, three girls, and three boys. She wondered if some of what they had experienced in the indescribable place had any bearing on the babies that resulted. They had each expressed gender of the baby didn't matter, just a happy and healthy baby would be good. Steve and Bucky worried about what the serums might do. Steve also worried about if the serum didn't pass, if the child could end up with the host of health problems he'd had as a child. Bucky worried about if he was even fit to be a father, if his child would be afraid of him, if his child should be afraid of him. Darcy's worries ran more toward what all this interdimensional travel might have on the baby. There was a strange voice they all heard in the place that had been comforting and got them all sharing their worries with each other. They had been shown, while there, several potential children, a boy and girl from each of their perspectives. The labor was mercifully brief for six babies. Once the first was out, the rest followed easily. Darcy wasn't sure what made that happen, but she was glad for it.

The babies were checked on regularly, and everything said they were normal aside from the fact that all of them had a meshing of her, Steve, and Bucky's genes in each child. After everything that the team had been through the past year, Tony declared this year a 'stay-cation'. No one was up for traveling, so instead Tony had made sure The Compound was essentially a spa as well. Hot tubs, saunas, spas, massages, the works. Training was to be only once a week for a couple of hours in the morning and that was it, and for two weeks at the end of July and beginning of August, there was no training at all just relaxation and downtime. That also happened to align with the babies' four-month birthday.

Tending six babies was a multi-person task all its own. Fortunately, they had a village right there at The Compound full of extra hands ready to help out. For the first month, Sam and Natasha stayed in their apartment in the spare bedroom just to help pick up the slack. Wanda came by every morning to help out and had perfected a magical multi-baby diaper change maneuver. And the babies all seemed fond of the web hammock that Peter did with them. Thor also seemed to mesmerize the babies, and he was a surprisingly capable caretaker, which was good since Jane had just had their first baby at the start of the summer.

Tony declared that weekend to be 'get outside weekend' since with all the babies and such, Pepper was pregnant so another was on the way, everyone had been largely hanging out inside. Plus it was hot and humid in July in Upstate New York. He set up the pool area outside with a grill and snacks and drinks, and lots of shaded areas so the babies could stay out of the sun. Darcy was actually really excited to just breathe fresh air and feel the sun. With the temperature in the low 80s and a little bit of breeze that day, it wasn't too bad.

"I can't believe we're outside, like all of us!" Darcy couldn't help the big smile, and Steve squeezed her and kissed her head immediately.

Bucky was busy taking a moment to breathe in and out, in direct sunlight, after he'd gotten the last baby situated in the shade. Jane and Thor were set up adjacent to them already. He hadn't complained, but he had missed fresh air. Opening the windows in the evening, or going outside only to go get something or run a training exercise wasn't the same as just sitting outside and breathing it in. "So nice."

Steve chuckled. "It's amazing how consuming some babies can be. But I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Though I am glad we all can get outside." He'd been taking the babies on his morning jogs for the last couple of months, but they never all seemed to get out as a whole family, and to have their whole extended family there also. It was the best vacation he could think of at the moment.

Tony had set up a large, shaded lounge for Pepper, and Natasha had joined her. "We're hungry over here already, so better get that grill going, Tony."

Tony and Clint seemed to have drawn the grilling task, and it wasn't that it was going bad, but there was definitely some commotion involving the size of the flame and what to put on the grill first. Which seemed to draw Thor over. Apparently, Asgardians know how to get a grill going. Thor's friend Valykrie had stopped by as well and shoved most of the guys aside at the minibar. No one was quite sure what was in the keg she brought, but anyone who wasn't superhuman or a god was approaching with caution. Dr. Strange was the first to give the drink a go.

When Peter, his friend Ned, Shuri, Wanda, and Pietro jumped into the pool with a mass of splashes, Darcy laughed. "Now that looks like fun."

"We could do that." Steve didn't want her to feel like she couldn't, or that she'd have to do it alone.

"Nah, I wasn't the jump in person even when I was their age. I'm definitely not that person now. But it still looks like a good time. If you guys want to go in, you can." Darcy saw Jane giggle at the end and looked toward the pool.

Then a single splash that rivaled the collective five before it sprang from the pool as Thor cannon-balled in with a, "YESSSS!"

The spray got everyone within an eight-foot radius of the pool. There were a few shocked gasps from those closest, like Sam and Maria who were trying to relax in the poolside loungers, and Scott, who was hauling out the pool toys from the nearby pool house shed.

"I'm surprised there's still water in the pool after that." Steve was quick to pull off his shirt and follow suit on Thor's leap into the pool, regardless of the water observation. Darcy sat down next to Jane, who was looking comfy on a big towel laid out in the shady, grassy area where they'd set all the babies up. Jane had her little one strapped to her chest, sleeping away.

"Reminds me, I should turn on the waterfall, it'll keep the pool full in case our resident God of Thunder decides to do anymore cannon-balls." Tony then asked Friday to switch on the waterfall feature on the pool. The pool was actually a pool complex. There was the dive pool. There was the lap pool. And then there was the recreation pool, which was the one getting all the current action. It was deep enough on one end for casual diving, and apparently Thor's cannon-ball. While there was lots of moderate depth and space to draw a net across to play games in the pool like volleyball.

T'Challa and Nakia had gotten comfortable in the way oversized lounge with Natasha and Pepper, while the Dora Milaje finally set their spears down and found chairs and pool loungers to relax nearby on.

Scott's daughter, Cassie, made a quick break for the pool just after Steve splashed down, followed by Wong. Darcy noticed Loki squinting at everything, despite lurking in the shade behind Jane. "Maybe we should have brought sunglasses for Mr. Mischif over there."

Jane glanced over her shoulder at Loki, and Erik who was sitting nearby. Erik was still getting used to Loki hanging around and not being evil. "He'll be fine. No one made him come."

Loki scowled but did nothing else while Bucky settled down in a lounge chair next to the babies. "I know you know how to smile. And that you can have fun without being a jerk."

"Can I now?" Loki's eyebrow went up and his posture got sharp.

"Yeah. I've heard all about you now. Thor said you are perfectly capable of being a decent being, when you want to be. No being a killjoy around here. This is vacation time. Have fun, without hurting others, or get lost." Darcy figured everyone got a second chance, and it seemed like recently Loki was trying to mean well. She just didn't want him getting bored and sulky, because that was when his mischief turned troublesome. "You could start by changing the getup. Maybe you'd start feeling the pool party vibe if you weren't dressed for a funeral."

Loki chuckled, he might not ever be 'good', but he was making an effort to keep from crossing the line into actual bad either. It probably helped that whenever he was on Earth, those damn wizards had their eyes on him. He'd gotten carried away with a little prank with a bonfire at the start of the summer and spent two days falling. He was not amused. He was trying though. And so, he tried, with a snap his black suit changed into black and green board shorts, similar in style to what Thor was wearing, and a black t-shirt with a skull on it, along with black sunglasses and flip-flops. "Better?"

"Much!" Darcy grinned at him and caught Bucky, Bruce, Erik, and Jane doing the same.

Bruce sat down behind Loki with an iced tea and handed Erik and Bucky beers. "At least it's not funeral attire."

"Guys! This is supposed to be summer fun at the pool. Why is everyone in the shade?" Sam was sitting up, noticing that only himself, Maria, Scott, and those in the pool seemed to actually be taking in the sunshine.

"Yeah, it's a nice day, guys. Grab some sunscreen and get out here if you aren't pregnant or recently given birth. Or maybe a God of Mischief. You can feel free to stay in the shade. Don't need the paperwork on pale-ass-god bursts into flames from direct sunlight." Maria lifted her shades for a moment and smirked.

"I'm not a vampire." Loki muttered, crossing his arms.

"No, but you still look like one." Thor chuckled from the pool.

"Do I not get any credit for trying. Darcy said I was better." Loki was pouting until the next distraction walked in.

"Sorry, we're late! Upstate New York is really, really white. Couldn't go two miles over the speed limit without getting eyeballed, you know." Scott had invited Luis and the guys, who had flown in overnight and were clearly ready to party. All three of them were in their trunks and in the pool, their stuff dropped on a pool lounger in about ten seconds flat.

"Who are those guys?" Bucky glanced around the group that was lurking under the shade.

"Scott's friends." Darcy kept her ear to The Compound grapevine.

Bucky made and 'ah' expression and gave the babies' specially designed six baby rocker a nudge as he noticed one of them getting a little fidgety. That seemed to be when he also caught Loki still pouting and looking at Darcy. "Look, man, we got six babies here, do not make my girl have to baby you too."

Loki scowled at Bucky before crossing his arms and looking elsewhere. Darcy smiled and chuckled a little.

The only person who seemed to be moved by Sam and Maria's guilting into coming out into the sun was, perhaps oddly, Vision. He was wearing khaki shorts and a pink polo shirt, the kind with the little crocodile on them, and had boat shoes on and a casual worn-in fedora style hat. It seemed he was mostly watching Wanda and smiling whenever she swam by and smiled at him.

Rhodey finally arrived, with Happy, and the meats ready to grill and shooed Tony and Clint away. Everyone overheard. "Okay, move! I'll deal with the grill. If I leave it to you two fools everything will end up burnt."

Tony and Clint hurried away looking both relieved and nervous. Clint grabbed a couple beers and made a beeline for the pool lounger next to Scott, while Tony headed for the rather large group in the shady, grassy area.

"Fly-boy is right though. Why is everyone just huddled in the shade? It's not an insanely hot day, and a pool party and barbecue is meant to be had in the sun. I grantee with proper application the sunblock will protect for at least three hours even if you swim. I tweaked the formula myself and then tested it."

"Some of us have to monitor our children. And some people like shade. This is supposed to be vacation right? Not everyone wants to bake in the sun for vacation." Darcy had enjoyed the sun as a kid, but in recent years she definitely took it in moderation. A shady spot with a little breeze on a sunny day was more her thing now.

It was about that time that the group in the lounger, including the fairly pregnant Pepper and the Dora Milaja, made the move for the pool. Tony took the opportunity to push again. "See, if the King of a whole nation, and my very pregnant wife can get some sun and pool time, you all can. Even you Reindeer Games." He pointed around at everyone before stripping off his t-shirt, shaking off his shoes and making for the mini water slide. 

Pepper and Natasha were sporting large hats, and sat down on the steps into the pool, while Nakia and T'Challa actually swam out into the pool. Okoye took a seat along the edge near Pepper and Natasha, while Ayo grabbed one of the pool floats Scott had pulled out and took to drifting around the pool. The rest of The Dora Milaje spread out around and in the pool, always on watch they were. One of them appeared to sit down and make conversation with Sam and Maria.

"Now I'm curious, can gods tan?" The words just kind of fell out of Bruce's mouth and everyone around him laughed, except Loki, well, and those who were under one year old, because they were asleep.

"I don't know, do Hulks tan?" Loki rolled his eyes so no one would accuse him of trying to provoke The Hulk.

"I don't know. I can though." Bruce and Erik finally ventured into the sun, both perching on the edge of the pool near Natasha, Pepper, and Okoye.

"Oh good, I didn't miss the food!" Fury wandered in, fashionably late, reaching between Strange and Valkyrie at the bar for a drink before sniffing around the grill.

"Fine, is everyone happy now? See, in the sun, not bursting into flames." Loki had moved without anyone noticing and was standing in full sunlight on the pool deck in front of them.

"Now we just have to wait and see if you tan." Bucky smirked.

"I suppose you get a pass with that hunk of metal you haul around." Loki pointed at Bucky's arm, his tone of voice getting a bit haughty.

"No, the arm has full temperature controls. I could stand in the sun and the arm could be ice cold. Or I could be standing in ice and the arm could melt right through it. I'm here because I'm watching my kids." Bucky didn't stand up or even speak in a challenging tone. Which seemed to get a slightly perplexed look from Loki. Perhaps he was used to most people getting immediately defensive, which made sense he supposed, given the reputation that proceeded Loki.

"You can go swim if you want, Bucky. I've got the kids." Darcy had noticed the handful of lingering stares he'd given the pool. He wanted to join the fun. She would have too, if she could have. Everyone migrating that way had made her long for the pool, despite the summer sun. But, she satiated that feeling with the knowledge it was hot in the sun, and in the shade, she had Jane to chat with.

"I can wait until Steve is finished." Bucky shook his head lightly with a soft expression on his face.

"Seriously, go. It's not like if they wake up and I need help, the both of you aren't right there in the pool." Darcy smiled, reaching over to pat his leg softly.

Bucky smiled, leaning to kiss Darcy before pulling off his shirt and diving into the pool. It appeared just in time to get in on the volleyball game they were arranging in one area of the shallower end, where it was decided two super soldiers on one team against a god and a spiderman on the other sounded like even enough odds, though that may not have really been true. Scott and Clint had finished their beers, and they, along with Sam and Maria seemed to be in for the game too, along with Pietro, T'Challa, and Nakia. It was quickly decided Pietro on Peter and Thor's team, and T'Challa on Steve and Bucky.

Clint glanced over at Natasha. Even through his sunglasses she could tell he was judging her for sitting on her butt. "Really? Not going to show us all how much you'll kick our asses?"

Wanda, Ned, and Shuri decided to grab pool floats and join Ayo, Luis, Dave, and Kurt floating around on one end of the pool and just watch the game, especially since it seemed Clint's gentle rib was all that was needed to get Natasha up and on Steve's team, while Clint joined Thor's, along with Scott. Sam too went to Steve's, along with Nakia. Maria went to Thor's.

"Hey, Happy, I think the rest of us are going to need some umbrella drinks for this game." Tony called out, and it appeared Happy had already been on top of that request before Tony even made it.

Happy was passing out fruity drinks with straws and umbrellas before the first serve of the game. Tony swam over to sit with Pepper to watch the super-pool-volleyball game. There were non-alcoholic versions for the underage and pregnant or nursing among them, and with alcohol for the others. The first volley went fairly well but was won by team Thor.

"Hey, I want to play too. And I think to even the odds, I should play with the soldier boys." Valkyrie was standing at the edge of the pool one hand on her hip, the other still holding a half-full pint of whatever she'd brought with her.

"Technically volleyball is six on six-" Peter stopped talking as soon as Valkyrie looked at him. "But, but, this is just for fun."

"The teams should be even though, whatever numbers they have." T'Challa added, as Valkyrie threw back the rest of her drink and hopped into the pool in the shorts and tank top she'd been wearing.

"Okay, team Thor needs one more, who's game?" Tony called out, looking around. "Vision? Not a Vampire?"

"Witches melt in water." Thor chuckled and grinned at the look Loki shot him.

"I'll play." Wong was possibly too excited in his response, but he didn't worry about that, and just made his way to Thor's side.

Darcy couldn't stop smiling, Jane looked at her like she might be crazy. "What?! This is just good entertainment."

Jane laughed before they both jumped when Strange sat down next to them on the oversized beach towel. "Hi."

"Hello. Don't mind me. This just looked like a nice shady spot." He crossed his legs and closed his eyes, looking as though he might meditate.

"It's fine, just didn't see you coming." Darcy shook her head and smiled.

"Sorry about that." He opened one eye to peek at her before closing it again.

One of the babies started to fuss and the rocker started to swing on its own, lightly, and settled the baby right down.

"Hey. How much do you charge an hour for that?" Darcy laughed and grinned.

Strange just chuckled a little.


	4. Camping Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 Prompt: Camping Trip

Everyone else was slightly wary about the idea of going camping with a bunch of babies. The sextuplets were about sixteen months old, while Jane's daughter was only thirteen months. They were all fairly advanced for their ages, given super serum mixes or part god blood. Jane's brains may have been passed to her daughter also, because that baby was definitely intellectually advanced for barely over a year old. But it was still something everyone, other than Jane, seemed to be concerned about. Jane said it would be fine.

Thus, they arrived at a pair of small cabins near Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains with a passenger van, an Airstream trailer RV with pick up truck, and Jane's work van. They at least had the numbers on the babies, besides Jane, Erik, and Darcy, Thor, Steve, Bucky, Sam, Bruce, and Heimdall came along. Ever since the destruction of Asgard last year, the Asgardians had set up on Earth. Looking for a Bifrost replacement was still a work in progress. Darcy and her bunch got the bigger cabin with the actual bedroom. Sam slept on the futon couch in their cabin's living room, and they had pack and plays for the babies to sleep in. Jane, Thor, and their baby got the single room cabin and had a travel crib for the baby. Erik and Bruce were sleeping in the RV. Heimdall didn't need to sleep and planned to simply sit outside during the night.

While there was work to be done, there was also time for fun. Sometimes their kids demanded it. It was a Saturday night and everyone had insisted that it be work free, after a couple of nights of observations and readings. They got a little fire going in the evening and cooked dinner over the open flame. The kids were curious, but cautious enough as to not make the parents nervous. It was still light out, but the sun was slowly moving lower over the mountains.

There was talk of roasting marshmallows and making popcorn after dinner, which was cooking away at the moment. The past few nights had been easy to grill up and eat things, but since tonight was about relaxing, Darcy was making a chili and cornbread, plus some mild refried beans for the kids, which took a little longer, but seemed like a nice change of pace from burgers, hot dogs, and such things. At least three of the kids wandered over while she was cooking to see what she was doing. Darcy loved how curious they were.

They had tents set up outside for the kids to play in, as well as a good sized rug that was laid in front of the tents. Not that it stopped the kids from playing with the dirt, but it gave them the option not to, all the time. They were crawling and toddling around, playing with the various toys that they'd brought with them, while the adults sat around talking and watching. They'd found a camping couch that was sturdy and Steve and Bucky were lounging on it.

Little Sammy toddled over, this time, with a flower, plucked from a nearby patch of little yellow flowers. "Mama"

"Oh, that's a pretty flower, Sweetie." Darcy ran her hand over her son's head, mussing his hair a little.

He thrust the flower out a little more at her. "Mama."

"Is that flower for Mama, Sammy?" Steve was smiling, watching their son.

"Yeah, yeah." Sammy nodded, thrusting his hand with the flower toward Darcy again.

"Aw, that's so sweet, Baby." Darcy knelt down and took the flower while giving Sammy a hug and kiss. He tried to crawl into her lap as she knelt. "Aw, I love you. Mama's trying to make dinner though. Are you hungry."

Sammy just pressed his head to Darcy's shoulder and tried to get both legs into her lap. There were audible 'aw's from both Steve and Bucky. It was only a moment before Bucky hopped up to step in. "I go the food, let him cuddle."

Darcy scooped Sammy up, leaning up for a kiss from Bucky, then sitting down next to Steve. "You just need a minute with Mama, do you?" Steve slung an arm around Darcy and rubbed his son's head with his thumb. Sammy just nodded and smiled softly.

Sometimes the kids could be exhausting, like when they all charged into a mud patch. But sometimes they were just the sweetest things in the world. Darcy kissed Sammy's forehead while nestling herself into Steve's side.

"I don't blame you, Buddy." Steve chuckled softly, leaning for Darcy's cheek, but she felt him coming, and he got her lips instead. He even got to linger a moment, since Sammy seemed contended just snuggling against Darcy. But then there were two sets of little hands patting his thigh, with ferocity. Bucky was already chuckling by the time Steve looked to see two more of their kids looking for some attention.

Becca was already climbing into Steve's lap and AJ (short for Anthony James) started pouting. There were a few 'aw's that went up from their friends and an extra chuckle from Sam. Little Thrud was wobbling her way toward where Thor sat with Jane in his lap. Jane jumped up to grab their daughter once they realized she was coming to them.

"The kids are getting cuddly." Bruce chuckled a little, though there may have been a bit of nervousness in there. He loved all the kids but was always cautious. Bruce was still working on finding some better common ground with The Hulk.

"Well, it is almost seven. I know True is usually ready for bed about now. But I'm hoping to get a little food in her before bedtime." Jane sat back down with Thor, with the baby in her arms. "You getting hungry and tired, True?"

The little girl just nodded and Thor kissed her head first, then Jane's, before squeezing his girls tight.

"They're up a little later than this, but usually between eight and nine, they start going down for count." Bucky added about their little crew. While three were getting needy, the other three, Sarah, Ellie, and E (short for Erik), were all still happily playing on the rug by the tents.

Steve just smiled and helped Becca and AJ into his lap. He was still surprised that somehow E and Sarah had gotten a sort of dirty blond hair. He'd been certain between both Darcy and Bucky's darker hair, all the kids would have gotten darker hair, but two got the kind of sandy blondish that was closer to Steve's color. Steve wouldn't have cared, but apparently, both Darcy and Bucky were very happy a couple of the kids had a little more of his color. And Steve did perhaps like seeing a little of his mother in his daughter. Little Sarah had lighter hair even at birth and he and Bucky decided she should be the one they named Sarah. "It's been a busy day though, aye?"

The little ones in their laps nodded while the three to the side playing paused and chorused, "yeah!"

Most of the adults chuckled at that, as Sarah, Ellie, and E seemed to abandon their toys in favor of their parents. Sarah and E went right for Steve and Darcy and what seemed to be the family couch now. Ellie, perhaps because she'd been the last one to her feet and thus was the last one over, took one look at the chaos and charged at Bucky, who was still stirring the food over the fire. He shifted and grabbed her up with his real arm and kept stirring with the other. "I think the food is ready."

There was no way for Darcy to get up, not when Sarah had climbed into her lap and E had wrapped one arm around Darcy's leg and the other around Steve's and had put his head on both their knees. They might just have to wait a few minutes to eat. Bucky moved to sit down next to Darcy and E moved over wanting to be lifted up. And they each had two toddlers on their laps. "Mama, Dada, and Papa are going to need to eat soon, and so are you guys. But how about Mama hears about your day while we cuddle and then everyone eats, okay?"

There were a bunch of little nods. AJ clapped, Ellie bounced, and Sarah and E 'yay'ed, in addition to nodding. Bucky jumped right in. "Well, we had a nice walk, that's where AJ found that cool looking rock he showed you earlier, right?"

Lots of nods before Steve continued. "We saw chipmunks and butterflies. Lots of flowers and weird bugs." The kids were perking up as the run-through of their day went on.

"Ooo, cool!" Darcy had only heard that the guys took the kids for a little hike around the area and went down to the water. Everyone else was helping themselves to dinner and listening in. She, Jane, Erik, and Bruce had worked on science all day while Steve, Bucky, Thor, and Sam took the kids to explore. Heimdall had managed to somehow participate in both activities, and spend some time by himself as well. Darcy was starting to wonder if he was able to be in two places at once or something.

"Boat, boat!" The word was a bit garbled, but it was there, and the smile on Ellie's face when she said it. Plus, the rest of the kids lit up at it too, including True, who was looking over from some feet away, where she sat with her parents.

"You saw boats?" The kids had been intrigued by the boats they saw the first day.

"No! Go boat!" Sammy's head was up off Darcy's shoulder as the kids had all gotten excited. Again, garbled, but Darcy was impressed by their constantly growing verbal skills. And knew they were actually ahead of the curve.

"You guys went on a boat?" There was a chorus of 'yeah's that answered that question for her. Darcy giggled. "Well, that sounds like lots of fun. Mama's jealous she didn't get to go."

"I ran into a guy yesterday morning at the market who was talking about a great boat rental place, so I asked about it." Sam shrugged as he sat down to eat. "Figured the kids might be into it."

"The kids were very into it. We had fun too. We'll have to do it again before we leave so everyone can come." Steve smiled at Darcy.

"That sounds good, cause I'd definitely like to see the lake by boat." It looked like a really pretty lake, but she'd barely gotten a chance to see it beyond the little glimpse they all had that first day. When Jane said they were going to work, she definitely meant work.

"I promise, we'll stay at least a whole day after I'm done with the project and we can do fun things." Jane knew she could be a little intense with her work sometimes, but having a baby was helping her see the need to sometimes take a little time out to do fun things with the people she cared about as well.

"Two days, at least. You need a vacation, My Dear." Thor chuckled.

"We should either get two boats or a slightly bigger boat if everyone's going to come out. I can talk to the guy tomorrow and see about reserving something for next week. Project is over then, right?" Sam spoke between bites of his chili. "By the way, Darce, this chili is delicious."

"Thanks, Sam." Darcy smiled, she hadn't gotten a chance to get any yet, her kids were still trying to cuddle, but they seemed almost ready to move.

"Yes, I planned research through mid-week. But after Wednesday night I'm done with the observations and data collection." Jane was setting True up with a Pop n'Sit, so they could all eat. Darcy had brought along six of those as well for her crew. They were sitting to the side folded up, waiting.

"I say one bigger boat, if it's possible. But if not, then two will have to do." Steve liked the idea of everyone hanging out together on one boat. It sounded like a nice way to end the trip. He started to shift. "Okay, kiddos, Daddy's getting hungry, so everyone needs to sit and eat."

Darcy gave Sammy and Sarah a pat so they would start moving as Steve stood up, carrying Becca and AJ. Heimdall actually stepped in to help pop open the chairs so Steve could just slide the children into them. Bucky and Steve got the kids into their chairs while Darcy made them all small plates with refried beans, some cheese, and tortilla. Once the kids were situated, she, Steve, and Bucky sat back down to eat.


	5. Cocktails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 Prompt: Cocktails

About halfway between the Fourth of July and Labor Day, Tony threw a 'Summer Shindig' at the Compound. Since most of the summer was devoted to family stuff, with the growing number of little ones amongst the Avengers crew, he felt they needed one night for the grown-ups to party. The Compound had already grown a rather impressive daycare staff the past several years, even before any of the actual Avengers had kids because some of the support staff and researchers had families. Tony offered up huge bonus pay to anyone on the Daycare staff who wanted to take a few hours to the whole overnight duty of watching all the kids. There were several takers. Plus, Tony had FRIDAY on watch as well and would notify them if any of the kids were having a problem that needed parental attention.

Attire was at least semi-formal, and Tony expected everyone there and ready to party all night starting at eight. Steve wore a blue suit, Bucky went with black, and Darcy found a little red cocktail dress with gentle volume to the skirt and a bit of cleavage up top. It was only once they were all dressed up that they realized how long it had been since they'd gotten dressed up. It seemed many others were having that feeling when they walked in as well. Soon enough, the party was in full swing.

Every Tony Stark party ever had an open bar, and this was no exception. Plus, Valkyrie had brought along some Asgardian brewed stuff. The displaced Asgardians had gotten very interested in the Earth micro brewing thing, and they were mixing their own techniques to get some stronger brews. The kind Asgardians could actually catch a buzz off of. While Steve and Bucky were having some of that, Darcy went for the cocktails. She didn't really pay attention to what it was called, but it was colorful, fruity, and chock full of alcohol.

After a couple of drinks, Darcy managed to get both her guys on the dance floor with her. Bucky wasn't so hard to convince, but Steve always took a bit of work. Even though he'd figured out dancing a couple years earlier, he still acted like he wasn't sure he knew how to dance. A few upbeat songs with beat appropriate dancing turned into swaying close. Steve pressed against her back and her chest against Bucky's. They'd get her wrapped up like this and Darcy felt like her feet barely even touched the ground.

They managed date nights sometimes, their village was pretty great about taking the kids for a night. But it was nice to be hanging out with all their friends as well, the ones who were usually getting stuck with the kids in order to give them their date nights.

"Guys, come outside, Wanda and Loki are gonna do some magic!" Sam shouted as he ran past them.

They'd all gotten a little lost in just swaying with each other. When Darcy looked up, she did notice a number of folks heading outside. She wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Wanda and Loki are doing magic, but she was curious to find out.

Once they got outside, it appeared to be some kind of lighthearted magical duel. Thor slapped Steve on the shoulder and smiled. "Val got Loki drunk, this should be funny."

The lawn area outside was quickly filled with sparks of red and green. Darcy laughed. "It looks like Christmas. They should do this in December."

Things were flying through the air, Loki was here and there, and then everywhere. Wanda then shattered them all, hitting the real Loki with a lawn chair. That appeared to be when Loki got serious and the red and green became all anyone else could see. A swirl of colors before it burst and Wanda and Loki were both laying in the grass catching their breath and laughing. No one else could quite figure out what may have transpired. Thor was laughing though. Most of the rest of the crowd simply applauded and cheered when it appeared everyone was okay. It was quite a spectacle.

The party seemed slow to move back inside. There was suddenly music pumping outside, and while some folks wandered back inside, many were deciding there should be more party outside. There had been an outdoor lounge, but the music and dancing had been inside. Maria and Valkyrie had gotten behind the minibar outside and started mixing drinks. Nothing from a recipe, they were both too drunk for following instructions. They just mixed whatever looked fun, and once it was finished, no one dared turn down the glowing blue and purple slushy concoction when it was thrust upon them with a firm 'drink it' by one of the two ladies. As such, Darcy drank.

"Wow! That's strong, but sweet, and fruity and I kind of like it." Darcy offered up sips to Steve and Bucky who both nodded, she drank a bit more before Bucky actually finished it.

"I think everyone is letting a little loose tonight. I've probably had more of that Asgardian stuff than I should have." Steve chuckled, he'd had a smile stuck to his face half the night.

"Eh, you don't really even seem drunk. You're just smiling a lot more than you usually do in a crowd this size." Darcy poked him softly in the belly and he chuckled a little more before pulling her in and wrapping his arms around her.

"I smile." Steve loved how easily Darcy still cuddled into him. After four years and six kids, she still just melted into his arms. Steve loved how that felt. He knew Bucky loved it too. It was what kept them all sane some nights, or so he believed.

"You do, just not this much, at least not when there's a bunch of other people around. But you still aren't drunk. Just a little more relaxed." Darcy leaned up to kiss his jaw and got his lips.

He felt it coming, and he wanted to taste her lips for a moment. Steve let his lips move slow, and felt her following his lead. It was so nice he didn't want to pull away. He felt like he should, there was still a party going all around them. Bucky was just standing there, though neither of them had ever been bothered by the other wanting to take a moment to savor her. Often both of them were on her at once, but they could always feel when the other guy just wanted a little moment. That was why the relationship was perfect with them all together. And to be fair, there were the odd occasions where he and Bucky needed a moment to sit down and take something in together, to talk about something from long ago, and while they never minded Darcy listening in, or even asking questions, they appreciated that she would sometimes simply let them be to have a little time to just reminisce together.

The kiss felt even more intoxicating than the cocktails she'd had. The longer Steve's lips lingered on hers, the more she wanted to pull him and Bucky into a dark room and think and feel nothing else but them the rest of the night.


	6. Napping Under the Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 Prompt: Napping under the sun

There was a bit of a baby explosion at Avengers Compound in April and May. It seemed that every single woman who was at Tony's party and slept with someone that night got pregnant. Even women who slept with other women, or women who slept with androids. And as exampled by the seventy-year-old wife of a Senator who was in attendance that night, even women past menopause managed to become pregnant. Anyone who engaged with other biological, humanoid beings, the resulting baby or babies were a combination of those two (or more) people. There was much interest in just how Wanda got pregnant after sleeping with Vision that night. The infants carried DNA that was not Wanda's, but they were still trying to identify if it somehow came from Vision or what. Darcy's pregnancy this time around was not the strangest, or at least not the only strange one. Though trying to determine number and gender of babies was still a no go. It seemed her womb was permanently linked to the vastness of the many varied interdimensional possibilities that the combination of her, Steve, and Bucky could produce. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. But obviously, her birth control meant nothing to whatever had gotten most of the women pregnant that night. The mercy again was that also like with the first bunch, once the first baby was out, any others came quickly and easily after, and her body seemed to bounce right back to her pre-baby body. Bruce was curious about that one, so was Darcy.

That lead to a summer full of babies, especially since many of the women had at least twins. Jane had twin boys, Modi and Magni. Pepper had triplets, Howie, Maria, and Jimmy, to add to their first son, Edwin. While both Valkyrie and Natasha each had twin girls. Wanda, Maria, Hope, and Nakia each had boy-girl twins. Somehow Sif had just one baby boy, Ullr. And Darcy, she got four. Two boys, two girls, with each gendered pair appearing to be identical. She may have panicked for a few minutes. But at least she wasn't alone, there was a lot of panic that went around, that was only during the summer starting to calm down as everyone adjusted to their new situations. It took a bit to figure out just how it happened, but Loki finally fessed up after all the babies were born, mostly because he couldn't stop laughing. He'd gotten a little tipsy and bored at the party that night and had whipped up a little spell with a strand of Thor's hair and lots of babies were had.

Going anywhere with all those babies under six months old seemed like a lot of work, Tony, however, insisted they not all spend another summer suck at The Compound. He had a place in the Hamptons, a small compound really, and they all headed there for the summer. Once they were there, it was nice. Darcy enjoyed breathing in the salt air. The kids seemed to enjoy it also. The sextuplets were a few months past three, and the babies were just three months, it made for some work, but they were all employing the 'it takes a village' idea more than ever before. Plenty of other parents to leave kids with for periods of time. Or simply someone else who could keep their eyes open and wake her if needed when Darcy needed a nap.

The quads were all sleeping in the shade while Steve and Bucky had the sextuplets running around playing, along with Sam and Clint and a few others. Jane, Pepper, and Wanda had all set up camp near her on the sand. And they all had each other's backs. When Pepper went back to the house to check on some business and make a couple calls, the triplets were sleeping and Eddie was playing, so they kept an eye out. Pepper returned in just over a half hour. They kept watch on Wanda's twins when Pietro wanted to show her something down the beach a little ways. Jane had been doing calculations while on the beach and stepped away to make a quick call to another scientist. Perhaps that's how Darcy managed to relax enough to simply fall asleep there in the sun. It was also just so warm, without being too hot the day was just barely 80 degrees with a gentle breeze. However, the beach umbrella really only gave enough shade for the babies, which had left Darcy to keep reapplying sunblock and tough out the sun.

"Hey, Doll, do you need more sunblock?" When Darcy's eyes opened, Bucky was sitting right over her, some of the sextuplets were hovering around munching on snacks, and there was a Steve sized shadow over her as well.

Darcy looked up with a sleepy smile, her eyelids fluttering until her eyes readjusted to the light. "Hey, Guys. Probably should reapply. How long was I asleep?" 

"Only about a half hour." Jane was leaned back in her beach chair reading. "I wouldn't have let you sleep more than a half hour more, if for no other reason than it's been nearly two hours since you applied your sunblock and I know you burn easily."

"Thanks, Jane." Darcy sat up as Steve knelt down. Bucky remained laying down, his hand brushing at her back softly.

"The kids should probably get sunblocked up again too. I know there's the possibility they can't burn like you two, but I'd like to be careful anyway." The sextuplets definitely had the super genes, but no one was quite sure just how far that went or to what degree. Or if some parts would kick in stronger once they'd finished growing, so she was playing it safe when it came to finding out just how resistant her kids were to everything.

Steve grabbed the sunblock and had the kids form a line to reapply. He squeezed a little into Bucky's hand so Bucky could get Darcy covered. She had to giggle at it, but she also loved it. It didn't always happen, but to have one of them take a few minutes to rub her down, it felt nice. And that they were already two steps ahead of her with the sunblock for not just the kids, but her as well.

"I love you both." She looked first at Steve, then over her shoulder at Bucky.

"Love you too, Doll." Bucky had sat up behind her to get her back and whispered it into her ear while pressing his fingers lightly into her hips. If there weren't so many kids around she'd have jumped on him right there with the sound of his voice.

Steve looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. "I'll always love you more than I can ever truly say."

And it felt like her insides were melting faster than her outsides in the sun. They always knew how to get her. Maybe that was how they wound up with practically a whole basketball team's worth of kids. Maybe the multiverse was giving her kids in the amount of love their family had. It also might have just been the wackadoodle nature of the universe, but she liked to romanticize it sometimes.

Bucky shifted her and tangled his legs with hers a bit as they faced each other. He started with her forehead and the sunblock after Steve gave him another squeeze of it. "Bucky, I can do my own face."

"But you don't have to." He smiled and she laughed, closing her eyes to let him just take care of her. They weren't alone long though. Steve had finished the first child and Becca was trying to crawl into the middle of her and Bucky's legs.

"Did you want cuddles or something?" Darcy didn't like to leave her kids hanging when they wanted to snuggle.

"I'm okay. I sit here." At three, their language skills were getting pretty good. There was still some need to listen close or ask a kid to repeat something to catch what they were saying, but they were getting better and better by the day. Becca's simple sentences were fairly well enunciated, as were her siblings'.

"We love you, Becca." Bucky leaned in and kissed Becca's head, and the little girl giggled.

Steve glanced over and smiled, giving Bucky a wink before nudging the next child toward him. Bucky smiled and waved E over to join them before making sure he didn't forget to get Darcy's legs with the sunblock. E went right for Darcy and threw his little arms around her neck from behind and hugged himself to her back.

"Aw! Love you, E." Darcy kissed his hands and reached to give his back a rub, at least as much as she could with him behind her.

"How the babies?" E moved closer to the babies, but stopped a few inches short and sat down to just look at them.

"They're doing good. Sleeping a lot. But they all ate just before Mama took a nap." Darcy had fed them all and made sure they were staying cool enough. They were all in pack and plays with a light blanket over for extra shading along with the large umbrella shade. Tony had designed some special cool fans that ran on a battery that they could use also. He wanted everyone maximizing outdoor fun and relaxation, and wanted to make sure all the babies stayed comfy while that happened.

"Mama napped?" Becca put her hand on Darcy's arm.

"Yes, Mama got tired and took a nap." Darcy smiled as her daughter cuddled up closer.

"Checking on the babies, E? How are they doing?" Bucky was watching as E watched the babies.

"Good. They sleeping. But RuRu awake." E nodded and smiled at Bucky before looking back at his baby siblings.

Bucky could see one of the baby girls smiling and waving her arms and legs around a little. It looked like she was responding to E sitting nearby. "She's happy to see you, E."

"Oh, RuRu. Love RuRu." E scooted a little closer to Ruby and waved at her. She made little bubbly, happy noises at her brother.

Ellie wandered over to her brother to check out the babies after she finished getting her sunblock from Steve. She stayed quiet though, seeing the other babies sleeping and waved at Ruby. Kneeling down by E and grabbing onto his arm.

"That is one of the cutest things ever." Steve was working on reapplying Sarah's sunblock but had shifted position so he could see what the kids were doing better.

"I know. Sometimes I still have to stop and reminded myself this is real." Bucky could feel the tears behind his eyes, but they didn't actually fall. But he felt them. He could feel the warm emotions running through him.

Darcy brushed her hand down Bucky's cheek and Becca seemed to sense the emotion from her father and moved to cuddle against Bucky more. Darcy smiled and tried not to let her eyes get all watery either.

As soon as Sarah was finished she kissed Steve's cheek and rushed over to help Becca hug Bucky.

"Aw, girls, thank you. Papa loves you all so much." Bucky may have let a couple tears slip as two of his daughters squeezed him, and he wrapped his arms around them and kissed them both.

"Love you, Papa." Both girls said in unison. And all three parents, and Jane, who was in earshot, thought their hearts were melting on the spot. Jane waved at Thor a bit, who was catching their daughter, True. She'd just jumped up to charge at him as he came in from surfing. That managed to do the trick to pull a couple tears out of Jane.

"Papa okay?" AJ looked concerned as Steve was finishing getting sunblock on him.

"Yeah, Papa's okay. He's happy. But you're all done here, so you can go give him a hug if you want." Steve kissed AJ's forehead and AJ smiled.

"Love you, Dada." He gave Steve a hug and kissed his cheek before running over to hug Bucky.

Sammy was the last one for sunblock and he just plastered himself to Steve before sunblock could be applied. Steve gave him a squeeze. "Aw, Buddy. We love you."

Meanwhile, E and Ellie were still watching their baby sister under the shade of the umbrella.

"Mama? RuRu come out?" E had his hand flat palm on the mesh of the pack and play and Ruby kept trying to pat her hand at his.

Darcy was smiling at all the cuddling her kids were doing with their fathers, and the two who were enthralled with their baby sister. "She does look pretty awake and curious. Maybe she wants to see what's going on." Since Darcy didn't have any kids on her, it was easy to get up and get Ruby, sitting down in the bit of shade not occupied by pack and plays.

Steve managed to get sunblock on Sammy without the little boy having to move too much. Once finished, Steve shifted them closer to the rest of the family on the big beach towels. The family helped keep Steve from being too much of a workaholic, but the push in his head to work a little longer and harder was always there. "I'm glad Tony made us all come out here. I wasn't sure about it, but I think it's good for everyone. Even the babies. Even me."

"It is good for you, Punk." Bucky grinned at Steve. Steve chuckled and rolled his eyes. Bucky expected nothing less when he decided to pull out the 'punk'. It only happened occasionally these days, but it still happened.

Darcy giggled at the exchange between her husbands before smiling at the exchanges between her kids. Settling Ruby into the crook of her arm with her body for support, E kissed the baby's toes, making her giggle. Ellie cuddled into Darcy's other side and gently pet the baby's hand. "Are you kids having fun this summer?"

The chorus of 'yay's was just what Bucky expected. The kids had been having a great time, playing at the beach, being outdoors. Tony had put up a big playground on the property that had even the biggest of kids having a go on the swing set. When Bucky sighed long and soft, his kids looked at him. He smiled, it was very much a happy sigh. Most of Darcy's first pregnancy had been spent worrying about if he was fit to be a father, if he could really be any good at it given his history. Those worries had slowly washed away in the first few months after the sextuplets were born, as he got a rhythm going on bottle feedings and diaper changes, and spent countless hours just sitting, holding one of his babies, and staring into their little eyes. "Remind Dada that we're meant to have fun in life."

"Dada fun!" AJ, Sarah, and Becca chanted and practically launched themselves at Steve.

Steve laughed as he was literally being climbed all over by four three-year-olds, since as soon as his siblings charged, Sammy joined the fun. "Dada's having fun, he promises." He was happy to let them keep crawling all over him though. He loved the love his kids gave them and hoped each child felt even more loved by each of them.

There was a happy squeal from one of the other babies. "Guess Little B wants to join us." Bucky chuckled, getting up to pull one of the baby boys out of his pack and play. He had to sit down in the sun but sat such that his body shaded the baby, and Little Bruce started bouncing in Bucky's lap watching the toddlers playing with Steve.

Darcy glanced over for a moment and smiled at Jane, who looked happy as could be, cuddling with Thor and their daughter while their twins slept. These were the moments that made all the crazy that surrounded their lives worth it.


	7. Clothing Optional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 Prompt: Clothing Optional
> 
> There are so many babies in this story!

The past year had been a wild one. Not one, but two world threat type super disasters in the form of powerful beings trying to either take over or destroy the world. The first was in October and the second in the springtime. Tony had thrown a huge New Year's party after the October mess and quite a few people wound up pregnant. Loki swore backwards and forwards he had absolutely nothing to do with it this time. Nakia still says she's never attending another Tony Stark party again, regardless. Besides Nakia, Darcy, Jane, Pepper, and Hope all got pregnant again, along with a few other ladies in attendance.

Despite entering third trimester, Pepper insisted she needed a real getaway, not just to the Hamptons, a full and complete getaway. Thus it was off to Hawaii, again. It had been a while for most of them, and arrival seemed to calm everyone down. It had rained their first day there, but it hadn't stopped them all from sitting on the Lanai, relaxing and watching the kids splash around. It was warm and the air felt fresher.

A few days in, the sun was shining, not a cloud in sight. The tempurature was around eighty, so not terribly hot, but hot enough to make swimming and sunbathing sound like nice activities. The oldest of their collective little ones were about four years old, and the swimming pool was very popular. They were becoming pretty good little swimmers too. Darcy's six, True, and little Eddie were all having a ball jumping in, swimming around and playing. The one year olds were a bit young for anything other than floating around with mom or dad for a bit, but the tiny crew seemed happy with the outdoor tiny tots play area Tony had created and had fenced off so they couldn't wander, yet could be easily monitored by parents sitting just outside it near the pool area. There was a sandbox, a toddler slide, playhouse, balls, and other toys. The four year olds enjoyed it too, but their attention had wandered to the pool a while ago, leaving just the littler kids to play in the play area.

Darcy was sitting right next to the gate to the play area and Pepper was a few feet away in a pool lounger. Jane was lurking on the Lanai where she had shade. One of the twins had gotten fussy, so she had Modi nursing while she sat and read. They were all working on getting their just over year old babies to wean, since in a few months several of them were going to have more babies in need of nursing and some of them already didn't have enough boobs to go around. Hers were cutting back a little, but the quads still liked to nurse once a day, at least, which with four, meant at least four nursings a day still, and yet again, no one could tell her with any certainty how many babies she was having. She was definitely getting her tubes tied after this go.

Given the warm day, the babies were pretty much in just diapers in the play area, which also had some shade. The little kids were swimming, so that kept them cool, though AJ had discarded his swim trunks twice now, and Darcy had given up making him put them back on. He was good about not peeing in the pool, and no one else seemed to care, so she let him be.

The chair was comfortable enough, but even with the breeze, Darcy was starting to feel the heat. "I'm slightly envious that clothes are optional for little kids on a day like this. I wish clothes were optional for pregnant ladies sitting in the sun too."

"I know, right?" Pepper replied without thinking or even moving until she did a moment later. "Wait, why aren't clothes optional for hot pregnant ladies, especially when they're on private property surrounded by family and friends who won't care if they're naked?"

Jane didn't even say anything, she just whipped her shirt all the way off, since it was half up anyway for Modi's feeding. Darcy chuckled, but Pepper was totally serious, pushing herself up and wiggling out of her swimsuit. She'd gone with a stylish tankini that worked well for her pregnant belly, but it was just more fabric soaking up the sun.

Darcy had on shorts, a tee, and her nursing bra, and if Jane and Pepper were doing it, so was she. The shirt and bra were off fast, and perhaps nearly as fast Nicky was waddling toward her in his diaper. Apparently, topless Mama said food to the babies. It was still nicer than the layers she had on. "Yeah, come on over, Nick. Free food." She opened the gate and picked him up. Her other three seemed content to keep playing, but Nicky clearly decided he was hungry upon sight of her boobs.

"You want the sunblock when I'm done?" Pepper smiled, knowing Darcy tended to sunblock even more than she did. And Pepper was always certain to put on the sunscreen. She was very fair and burned easily.

"Yes, please. Thank you." Darcy would cover what she could while Nicky ate, and then get the rest when he was done. He latched on fast and was nursing away. She did love getting to stare at them while they nursed. The way they smiled with their eyes sometimes, like Nick was doing right now.

"Whoa! What is happening with the naked? Not that I'm complaining mind you. Just am I allowed to look?" Tony wandered into the yard, followed by Natasha who simply took her shirt off and sat down in a lounger. Her twins were playing happily with the other babies.

Pepper laughed. "It's too hot to be pregnant and covered up in the sun. So we agreed we should just lose the shirts. You can look, as long as you don't look too much."

"Got it." Tony let his eyes wander over Pepper, but that was allowed. "Think the kids would let us sneak upstairs for a bit?"

"Probably, but I'm not sure I'm in the mood for that. Try me after dark when it's cooler out." Pepper smiled, the idea was appealing, but she was too hot to move. "Here, give this to Darcy."

Tony pouted a moment before kissing Pepper's cheek and passing the sunscreen to Darcy. "Will do, Boss. How are all the lovely pregnant gals doing today, other than too hot for shirts?"

"Thank you. We're pretty good, other than the too hot thing." Darcy started trying to maneuver to keep nursing and put some sunscreen on.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do to make your stay at Casa de Stark a relaxing one. I could call you a 100 and something-year-old soldier to help with the sunscreen."

Darcy had to laugh, as did the other ladies. "I'll figure it out. And shouldn't that be Hale o Stark, since we're in Hawaii?"

"Here, let me help." Natasha moved over to help Darcy with her sunscreen.

"Pepper, am I allowed to watch this?" The flustered and desperate look on Tony's face was nothing short of classic.

"Only if they allow it." Pepper was trying to keep a straight face, but her eyes gave her amusement away.

"Please?" He looked over at Darcy and Natasha, keeping his eyes on theirs.

"Your call." Natasha didn't care, she wouldn't have cared if it was the other way around either. But she couldn't speak for Darcy.

"Yeah, sure." Darcy shook her head in amusement and laughed a little. "But I hope you show Pepper your appreciation for this later."

"Oh, I will." Tony was grinning ear to ear as he watched Natasha rub Darcy down with the sunscreen. Chin in his hands. "I wish I had popcorn or something."

"Oh my god, Tony." Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head, laughing.


	8. Sunburns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 8 Prompt: Sunburns

The year had been mostly free of big threats, just a lot of little missions to help with this and that, it kept The Compound busy though. When summer rolled around, they were caught up in so many little things, any travel plans were set aside. They had clean up from one thing at the end of May and calls around strange events in early June. The strange events had been tied to some stuff with the Asgardians living on Earth, nothing problematic, but it had spooked some folks. Right after the 4th of July there was a small extremist cell that started making some noise which needed dealing with. Only took a few days, but it made for chaotic schedules. Tony was showing some new tech, and Pepper, of course, had to organize that, being the CEO. Tony just had to talk about his new ideas. Jane had finished her Bifrost type mechanism and the Asgardians were able to travel to their other realms again, and the human realm wanted to know how they could use it as well. 

They were trying to make the most of summer at the compound though. Lots of cookouts and swimming. Tony had on-site spa facilities. Darcy, Pepper, Wanda, and the kids had been out by the pool for a while, letting the kids have some fun and cool off in the water. It was definitely a scorching one. They'd gone swimming in the morning, but as noon approached, they headed inside.

Darcy came in feeling warm and like she was a bit pink. A quick look in the mirror confirmed it. Pepper had gotten a bit pink also, but they seemed to have kept the kids from getting sunburns. She was hoping it would heal fast if she put some aloe gel on it. She'd healed up crazy fast from her surgery to have her tubes tied after she had triplet girls at the end of September the previous year.

"I think I got sunburn." Darcy frowned as Bucky came toward her. The kids kind of scattered, making for the bathroom or TV or snacks. Except for the triplets who were sleeping in their stroller. At five, the sextuplets were growing more and more self-sufficient, and better at helping out with the littler ones. Able to help get snacks out for the toddlers, and hand parents needed items. And at two, the quads at least had some modest autonomy in terms of getting around and finding toys to play with.

"It doesn't look too bad, does it hurt?" He could see a bit of pink on her face and legs. "It almost looks like it's fading already. Are you sure it's not just pink from being too hot?"

Bucky gently touched her face, it didn't hurt at all, not like it had when she'd touched her cheek a couple of minutes ago. Darcy checked the mirror again, it did look as though it was fading away. "It did hurt when I was first coming inside, but it doesn't so much now. It's only been a few minutes, how is that possible?"

Bucky shrugged, curling an arm around Darcy and looking over her face again. "Didn't your incision from your surgery heal super fast?"

"Yeah, I'm not really sure how it healed that fast. Everything has been healing faster the last few years, which is weird since I think it's supposed to work the other way. But not this fast." Darcy looked down at her legs again. That was what she'd noticed first. She'd moved into the shaded grassy area at the pool complex after Pepper said she looked pink, and her legs had definitely looked and felt burned, more so than her face, but they looked only vaguely pink now and the tenderness was negligible.

They both laughed when they heard the 'arr' and little giggles before Steve appeared from the hallway with a five-year-old slung over his shoulder and two toddlers under the other arm. Darcy had no idea how he and Bucky did that. Even with super strength, she wasn't sure how they maneuvered it, but they did. "How was the pool? Did the kids behave?"

"They did. It was good. I thought I got a sunburn, but it seems like it's going away already." Darcy poked her lower thigh where she'd been pretty pink before.

"Really?" Steve set E, Bruce, and Livy down and took a closer look at Darcy. "Give Dada a minute to check on Mama, okay?"

The little faces nodded and hovered close, but gave their parents a moment. Darcy shifted as the guys looked her over again. "My thighs were fairly pink. Pepper pointed it out to me. She looked a little pink too. I think I forgot to reapply while trying to keep tabs on all the kids at the pool. My face felt a little tender too when I was walking back to the apartment. But now it feels fine."

"Your face looks normal now, it was a touch pink when you first walked in, and your legs too, but those look barely pink anymore either." Bucky gently touched her thigh and looked at her.

Darcy smiled softly at Bucky. "Feels okay now."

"Maybe Banner should run some tests. Maybe even call Dr. Cho for a second opinion and let them figure out what it is. It seems like a good thing that the sunburn goes away so fast, but it's certainly strange." Steve was telling himself fast healing was good, but he wasn't sure why Darcy would have acquired that. It seemed like she healed up fast from her pregnancies and other little cuts and things she'd gotten ever since the sextuplets. Steve wondered if their interdimensional journey, those years ago, had done something or perhaps if having carried his and Bucky's kids had given her some kind of residual serum effect.

"Are you okay, Mama?" E was watching and listening in, not fully sure what was going on.

"Yeah, Sweetie. I thought I got a sunburn, but it seems like it's going away, so maybe I was just really hot."

"Oh, no sunburn is good, right?" E had reached out and grabbed hold of Bucky's pants.

"That's right." Bucky gave E a kiss on the top of the head. It sounded okay to Bucky, but he knew he was still slightly concerned, and could see Steve was too. They wanted to be sure whatever it was that had Darcy healing up didn't have any bad effects.

Steve and Bucky got the kids wrangled for lunch while Darcy dropped by Bruce's lab to see if he could have a look at what was going on. He took some blood, called Dr. Cho in, they ran a bunch of tests while she sat around feeling fidgety. She got a couple dozen texts from Steve and Bucky asking what was going on and if she was okay while she waited. It did end up taking a few hours before Bruce and Helen seemed to come to a general conclusion, though they asked to take a little more blood and do a few more tests so they could study it. They seemed to think that with each pregnancy she was exposed to a little more of the serum. It was still low level, not enough to make her into some kind of super strong, perfect specimen like Steve and Bucky, but enough to heal injury and such things quickly, like the sunburn. Once she thought about it, she didn't seem to catch colds or such things anymore either. Life was so crazy, she'd never really stopped to think about when the last time she'd gotten a cold was, but it was probably during the winter before she got pregnant with the sextuplets.

When Darcy got back to the apartment, the kids rushed her, well, the ones who were good at walking. The ten-month-olds were still learning the subtleties of walking upright. They did seem to perk up in their playpen though and watched what was going on. She was still sometimes overwhelmed by ten children running at her, but she loved it at the same time.

"Mama, okay?" Livy had Darcy by the knee.

"Yeah, are you okay, Mama?" Sammy had gotten in close at one side and had wrapped his arms around her hips and pressed his cheek to her side.

"Yes, I'm good. Everything is okay." Darcy smiled, she didn't like that her kids had been worrying, but she knew they were perceptive little things. They probably picked right up on Steve and Bucky's nerves, and with her disappearing for several hours to go find out what was going on, they inevitably got worried. "Turns out, Mama has a little of that super stuff you guys have. You guys got it from your fathers, and it seems because you all grew inside me, I got a little of it too."

"So, Mama's extra strong. I knew it!" Becca was grinning. A few of the other kids giggled and most of them were smiling.

"Probably not quite like you guys, but it means I heal faster. And don't get sick easy." She'd knelt down to hug and kiss every child.

"Really?" Steve was reaching his hand out. He loved the kids gathered around, but this was one of those moments where he really just wanted to get his arms around Darcy and hold her close for a moment.

"Yeah. They're examining it some more, picking it apart I'm sure, cause they're scientists. But they said it's definitely a low-level serum that's in my system. Not enough to give me a perfect body or anything." Her hands went up in a stop sign immediately as she saw both Steve and Bucky's mouths start to open. "I know, perfect to you. But I'm not going to look like I do yoga twenty times a week, but I heal fast, and until Bruce asked, I didn't even realize I think the last time I caught a cold was before my first pregnancy. They said everything looked good, extra good. Because of it. They even ran an eye test, and while still not perfect, my vision without my glasses is actually a little better than it used to be, which is usually not how vision issues work as one ages."

Steve managed to squeeze in and pulled Darcy up from her squat position with the kids and pulled her in tight. "I love you. And sorry we couldn't keep the kids from worrying. We tried not to worry, we swear."

Darcy laughed, her arms pressed tight around Steve's body, letting herself savor the feeling for a moment. "It's okay. Everyone is okay now, right? No one is worried anymore. Cause Mama is perfectly fine. Even a little better than good."

"Mama is a little bit super now, too." AJ bounced up and down.

"She was always a little super, we just have proof now." Bucky chuckled, adding on while stroking his real hand down Sarah's hair. She was smiling slightly though and wasn't squeezing his leg so tight as she had been, so she seemed to have relaxed. He knew his kids sometimes got nervous waiting for him or Steve to come home from a mission, this was the first time they'd had Mama disappear on them and watched their fathers be nervous for her to come home and it seemed to make them more anxious than when the guys were gone for sometimes much longer.

"Does that mean Mama is going to have to go save the world sometimes?" Sarah was still hanging onto Bucky, apparently processing the new information. Her voice sounded a bit wary and her smile a bit nervous.

"No, Sweetie. No superheroing for Mama. She's only slightly super. Just super enough to keep up with all of you. Not super enough to do the crazy stuff your fathers do." The children of superheroes had some interesting things that most kids didn't have to deal with, they tried to keep the worries minimal. And most of the time the kids seemed fairly relaxed about it, sometimes even excited by the fact their fathers were superheroes. But there was some anxiety from time to time. Darcy pulled away from Steve and moved to hug Sarah while both Bucky and Steve stayed close.

"Okay. That's good." Sarah nodded, her smile reaching her eyes finally as she hugged Darcy tight.

Steve and Bucky exchanged a slightly pained look. They did their best to keep missions short. They'd tried briefly to not go out at the same time, but they usually worked better as a team. It was rare a mission called for just Bucky, not Steve. They were both fine alone, but things just got handled better and faster with them both on the job, usually with Sam and Nat as well. They all had a shorthand with each other that went a little beyond that of the rest of the team. Natasha, of course, had that with Clint too. When jobs only needed part of the team, they tried to assemble the team that would get the job done cleanest and quickest, that usually involved Bucky, Sam, and Nat being part of most teams Steve lead. Which meant Darcy home alone with the kids for the duration of the mission, and perhaps the kids worrying about the safety of both their fathers.

It was then they got a three baby chorus cry from the triplets, who seemed aware they were being left out of the family circle. Darcy smiled softly as Sarah pulled back. "How about we all go cuddle on the couch, maybe put a movie on, okay?"

There were a lot of 'yeah's and bouncing children. Steve went to scoop the triplets out of the playpen, and Bucky snuck in a little hug from Darcy while the kids were excitedly scrambling for snacks and the couch. "How about everyone sits while Papa makes some popcorn?"

"Good call, Papa." Darcy chuckled, dropping a quick kiss on Bucky's cheek before he hurried to stop the bigger kids from finding the cookies in the cabinet.

Steve chuckled as he managed to hold, carry, and sit down with three wiggly ten-month-olds. When Darcy sat down next to him she grabbed the nearest one, which happened to be Audrey, while the other kids crowded around. "Someone hand Dada the remote and we'll find a movie." He had too many kids on him to reach for it. Ellie had sat down next to him, and Nicky managed to wedge himself into his lap. Plus, AJ had sat down on his foot, but at least the little boy also handed him the remote. 

When Bucky came over with two big bowls of popcorn and sippy cups for the toddlers, the kids made space for him on the other side of Darcy. Once he settled in, the kids shifted and he wound up with Sarah half on him, half leaned into Darcy, while Darcy had Audrey and Little Bruce on her lap. The other two toddlers, Livy and Ruby, squeezed into his lap, and Sammy half sat on his other side with Becca pressed into Sammy's side. Which left E to sit between his feet on the floor.

About twenty minutes into the movie, the kids had relaxed, the only sounds were the munching of popcorn by the older kids. The toddlers were sipping juice cups, and the babies seemed content with pacifiers and cuddles. Darcy, Bucky, and Steve exchanged smiled and sighs. Their family was crazy, but it could also be simple, and it was the best.


	9. Spas are Mandatory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 9 Prompt: Spas are Mandatory

The year had been a good one. The only thing Darcy was less than enthused about, at first, was her body deciding to fix up her tubes such that she wound up pregnant once again just after the triplet's first birthday. Just when they'd been getting to a place where the youngest kids could be left to others for a night, without too much hassle, allowing her, Steve, and Bucky some time alone. She had several long chats with Dr. Cho after, who assured her that once the babies were born she had a better method of birth control that, barring magical intervention, should work. Technically that had been true of the birth control she'd been using before. It had only slipped up due to magical influences. The triplets, while not Loki's doing, had been helped by some kind of spell some Asgardian Sorceress dreamed up.

Tony had planned the summer trip before the New Year even came, at Pepper's behest. She insisted they all needed a spa vacation. But in a place that they could also have some family fun. The Swiss Alps it was, alongside a lake, not far from where Darcy, Bucky, and Steve had become a thing eight years ago on that mission.

During the pregnancy, Darcy had focused her mental energy on requesting that the multiverse give her a single child this time. Apparently, the universe, and her husbands, did not get this memo. Steve and Bucky kept talking about all the possibilities for their child, and she got five of those possibilities. She loved her children dearly, she was happy to meet each and every one of them, but she also wanted a little time to herself sometimes, more than a couple of hours once or twice a year.

Steve and Bucky understood Darcy's frustration, they wanted some time to be adults together too. But once she got pregnant, it was hard for them not to get excited thinking about it, even though they had more than either of them had ever imagined. For several years they'd both set aside the idea of ever having a wife or children, and having that idea find them and jump in their laps again and again was something they couldn't seem to not love.

Darcy had given birth just six weeks prior to their trip, and her body was back to its pre-baby shape. It was like her body never stopped being twenty-nine, when she wasn't pregnant. Actually a little better than when she was twenty-nine, and she was thirty-six now. There had been a couple of other pregnancies on the year amongst the friends and associates of the Avengers, but no one in their closest circle. Natasha said she'd have traded her if she could. She loved her twins, wished she could have more, said she was even considering talking with Loki about if he could replicate what he'd done, but for her only. She hadn't actually done it yet, but she kept talking about it throughout Darcy's pregnancy. It made Darcy wish she could have done something. Natasha said she was happy though, with her girls, and playing Auntie to everyone else's. Wanda hadn't said anything, but Darcy got the feeling she had similar feelings to Natasha about the wishing she could have another, but no one had quite figured out how Vision had managed to contribute DNA to the babies, but somehow it seemed he had, but it was entirely organic DNA.

The vacation included every couple (or whatever number their arrangement had) having a mandatory day without kids to enjoy the spa, sightsee less kid-friendly spots, have meals in nice places that weren't the resort Tony rented out, just for their group, and spending the whole night just enjoying each other. Darcy wasn't sure how that would work with newborns, but Tony, and then Pepper, assured her it would.

Reluctantly, Darcy allowed Steve and Bucky to lead her off to the spa to start their day. There was a light breakfast served while they soaked in a hot tub.

"How are you feeling? Are you alright?" Steve had felt unsure about leaving the babies with others, even their friends, for a whole day. Even if there was plenty of milk to feed them and all that. They'd always tried, unless it was a world threat, to be home with their kids during the first few months, all three of them. Even though it was just one day, and they were having fun, not doing anything high risk, he still felt like this wasn't the time. He did see the logic in enjoying the fact they were in this beautiful place and had people they could trust to watch their kids for a day. He was excited for every pregnancy like it was the first, but he was also happy to have Darcy all to themselves. The fact it was in the mountains of Switzerland, where they'd first made their move and Darcy became their girl, it was just all the more perfect. So he was trying to shake off his concerns about being apart from the babies for a day, and embrace having some time alone with Darcy and Bucky.

Darcy set down the mimosa she had and looked at them both. Since she wasn't going to be breastfeeding today, she figured she could have one drink. Her expression soft, but serious when she spoke. "I am. I can't say I'm not thinking about the babies, or hoping they aren't being fussy or something. But I'm okay. I know they're in good hands, I just don't want them to overload the goodwill of our friends."

"I'm thinking about that too. I think we all are. But we should try to relax and enjoy this." Bucky rubbed his hand up and down her arm, and Darcy let out a long, soft sigh.

"I know. I am really happy to be here. And getting you both close, and not having to jump up to attend anything a minute later is as soothing as its always been. You two are like magic that way to me." Darcy brushed a hand down each of their cheeks. She'd wound up in the corner spot, and they had tilted such she got eye contact with them both at the same time. She loved when that happened. Steve and Bucky both leaned in to press kisses to her jaw and cheeks. Bucky trailed his lips down her neck, while Steve caught hers in his, and Darcy stopped thinking entirely for the next several minutes until she needed a breath. Bucky nipped at her collarbone a few more times while she got a bit lost in Steve's eyes. There were four hands on her, and she had one on each of them.

Bucky's lips wandered back up her neck, pulling her attention to him as he neared her lips. He wanted his long, slow taste too. Steve was trailing his fingertips down the back of her neck and over her shoulder while Bucky kissed her, and she trembled, even though the water around them was very warm. The fact they could still do that to her excited him.

"Do we really have to go anywhere? We could just hide out all day together." That idea was appealing to Steve. He had spent the last half hour or so while they ate and relaxed talking about the cool things they could go see that would be too crazy to deal with when they had all the kids in tow. But now, he just wanted to wrap himself around Darcy and stay that way.

It took Bucky and Darcy a moment to pull their lips from each other. She loved the idea of doing nothing, but it seemed like they should do something. "We probably should at least take advantage of the massages Tony set up. I might be a little bit super now, but not so super that a massage doesn't sound nice. I would love to just curl up with you two, but I think we might wish we at least went out and saw something. Even just find some fresh air to breathe while we kiss."

Bucky chuckled and Steve was smiling as she spoke. Bucky was the first to nod and say something. "Finding a bench or some grass without a lot of people around and making out sounds very nice. Maybe we go get the massages and then go find a nice spot. Maybe there's a park or something nearby, and we can just sit or lay out and be together."

"And then we can say we went somewhere." Steve did like the sound of laying outside someplace, getting some sun and fresh air while they still got to tangle themselves together a bit. "I think Tony said something about a boat. Maybe we could just take a boat out on the lake."

"That might be an idea. Then we have at least a bit of privacy." Bucky's hand rested on her knee, fingers brushing her skin even under the water. He was craving that contact though. Over the years, he'd gotten more secure, less needy, but it never completely went away. Even with the kids and everything, there were times he just needed Darcy close, needed to hold her and feel her.

They got their massages, spent some time on a boat on the lake, before an early dinner and then spent the rest of the evening in their suite tangled together. And, as promised, her kids, even the newborns, seemed content the next day, and their caregivers/friends didn't look any worse for wear.


	10. Blisters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 10 Prompt: Blisters

Of course, before Helen could get Darcy set up, she got pregnant on their trip. That day to themselves had her, Steve, and Bucky in their suite by seven pm and spending most of the subsequent twelve hours naked together. After the twins were born in May, she didn't wait any longer than Helen said she had to, and until she saw Helen, there was no sex. Other things, but no sex. She was done with the baby having. She had more than enough of them. Darcy loved them, but it was chaos most of the time in their home. Even with well-behaved children, which she had, that many of them added up to some mild insanity much of the time. They never lacked for playmates though. Besides having each other, there was quite the assortment of other kids around the compound, and everyone had come with them for vacation this year.

Coming off a busy year, and several women having babies recently. Wanda and Natasha had talked to Loki and each had gotten pregnant again. Helen, Sif, and a couple of other Avengers associates had also had babies or were currently pregnant. The teams had been busy also, with a variety of moderate issues since the summer before. Tony decided it was a good year for another Hamptons trip.

They all tried to keep up the giving each couple a day without kids. Today was Tony and Pepper's day, so the rest of them were making sure that their kids were taken care of. Darcy had kids just about each of their ages, so she took them all to hang out in the big playground. It had something for kids big and small. She wasn't alone, Steve and Bucky were on duty with her, as were Jane and Thor. Natasha said she would be coming by with her three, and Clint and Sam shortly to help out. The kids had been playing for almost an hour, after having breakfast. Wanda had helped out with breakfast but took her kids to see something with Vision and Pietro, they'd be back a little later.

They were lounging under the shade, with the babies chilling in their bouncers, when little Edwin Stark came over, alongside Sammy and AJ. AJ took the lead speaking. "Mama, Eddie hurt his hand."

"Oh dear, show me." Darcy waived Eddie closer and he held out his hand.

"What is it, Mama?" Sammy looked concerned.

Steve, Bucky, and Jane were peering over as well. Thor was busy pushing a couple of the kids on the swings. Darcy recognized why Eddie's hand hurt. "It looks like a blister. You guys have been swinging on those monkey bars a lot, probably how it happened. Lots of grip and friction sometimes creates a blister."

"It's like a bubble, but it hurts." Eddie finally spoke.

"I know, they can hurt a lot, but they are pretty common. Like little cuts or bruises. Happens sometimes when you're a kid that likes running around climbing things and playing. Sometimes it's best to pop it with a pin and drain the fluid, that way it's less likely to rip open. Although someone like Uncle Bruce might know of a newer cooler way to take care of it than when I was a kid." Darcy hadn't had a blister like that since she was young, so she hadn't had to deal with fixing one up in a long time. 

All three boys flinched at 'rip open'. And Eddie whispered, "rip open?"

"Yeah, if you keep playing on the bars with it, sometimes a blister can rip open. It can be a little painful. We can call and ask your parents if you feel unsure what to do. Or we can go check in with Uncle Bruce and he can maybe just fix it up for you." Darcy didn't figure having it popped would be a big deal, but if Eddie was unsure, she'd definitely call Tony and Pepper and let them decide. Generally, they all trusted each other to tend minor injuries with their kids. A few months earlier, AJ had managed to break his finger doing some silly jackass style stunt while hanging out with Eddie. Steve and Bucky had been on a mission, and she had been dealing with babies, so Tony and Bruce set AJ's finger, and it was healed up in a week. Fast healing for sure, it was like he'd never injured it a week later. She was glad they'd fixed him up right away. Tony had called her as soon as they got the finger set and splinted to let her know. AJ was already ready to play some more right after, though Bruce made him sit down and take it easy.

"It won't rip open if I don't do anything though, right?" Eddie looked a little nervous. Darcy gave his arm a little rub and Sammy put his hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"Right, so if you want to ask your parents what to do first, we can do that." Darcy knew Eddie was a pretty adventurous kid, but when he got hurt, he was just a kid and he liked one of his parents to tell him he was okay.

"Okay." He nodded and tried to smile a little.

"I don't remember getting a blister before." AJ mused aloud.

"You haven't, I think your serum from your fathers probably prevents small things like that. They usually occur from a building of friction. Something your body might repair so fast, a blister wouldn't appear." Darcy glanced over at Steve and Bucky for some kind of confirmation on if that sounded accurate. It seemed so to her. She'd never seen either of them with a blister before. Cuts and bruises, yes, ones that were probably far worse when they happened, but by the time she saw them, they'd begun to heal at least a little bit.

"I've never had one since the serum. I did get them growing up though. Before the serum and stuff." Bucky nodded.

Steve nodded along also as he was sending a message to Tony about the blister. The reply came fairly quick in the form of his phone ringing. He explained what happened and passed the phone to Eddie. It appeared to be a brief exchange with each parent and Eddie nodding and smiling a bit before handing the phone back. Steve thanked Tony, who told him to just see what Bruce could do. "Do you want a piggyback ride to Uncle Bruce?"

"Okay!" Eddie was so excited, he almost forgot the pain in his hand. Hopping onto Steve's back and letting him carry him off. Steve was quickly texting to check on where Bruce was.

Darcy laughed softly as her kids watched their friend ride off with Steve.

"Eddie's okay?" Sammy still appeared concerned, where AJ was laughing and already running off to play some more.

"Yes, Eddie will be just fine. Dada's just taking him to get patched up, and he'll probably be back to play in just a little while." Darcy smiled softly, wanting her son to not worry so much, but also finding it sweet how concerned he was for others.

"I'm glad we have the serum effects, but I wish Eddie and the others could too." Sammy wasn't ready to go back to playing yet. He had grabbed onto Darcy's hand and was looking over at Bucky with big wide eyes.

"I know, Sammy. I wish that a lot too." Bucky ran his real hand over Sammy's head. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Darcy's temple. He'd wished that for a while about Darcy, and somehow it actually came true, but he knew that was not the norm. Sammy's concern stirred up a little of the worry he'd felt for years before about Darcy getting hurt and not healing the way he and Steve did, and wondering how aging would go for them all. He still wondered a little, since they all had levels of strength of serum, but he at least worried less now. It did make him want to pull Darcy and his kids close, and he hoped Steve would hurry up and get back here. "Do you want to sit with Mama and Papa for a little bit? Or do you want to go play again?"

"Sit, please." Sammy moved to climb into Bucky's lap as soon as Bucky shifted.

Bucky slung his arm around Darcy and pulled Sammy close to his chest. Darcy kissed Sammy's head and then Bucky's lips. When Steve came back, they were still huddled together. Eddie went back to playing, and Steve sat down without even having to ask. He could guess why Sammy was curled up against Bucky, and why Bucky's arm was clinging to Darcy the way it was. Steve smiled softly at them and cozied in on the other side. He caught Jane smiling at them all from her seat nearby.

After a little while, Ellie came over to check on Sammy, and he decided he was ready to go play again. Thor had made his way over and cuddled up to Jane, and pulled their seat over a little closer to Steve and the rest of them. Darcy smiled around at all of them, they really did have the best big, crazy family, not just their immediate family, but their big extended Avengers family.


	11. Aquatic Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 11 Prompt: Aquatic Life

The team had a good year, no big missions, just some small to moderate ones. There was lots of time for family and Tony had bought up some land adjacent to the compound and opened a private school. All their kids could attend, and interesting, intelligent, and in need kids from the surrounding area were invited to attend as well. They'd been schooling their kids mostly at the compound, but as they got a little older, it felt to everyone that more interaction with more kids their own age would be good.

Darcy was happy to see her kids making new friends and seeming very excited about the school. The first year had been great. Tony decided a different kind of vacation was in order, and everyone was off to Australia, the Brisbane area, more specifically. It was winter there, though that region the temperatures seemed fairly mild, mostly sunny days and temperatures that were in the seventies on the Fahrenheit scale. And Tony had bought and modified a few small four-wheel drive tour buses so they could really go see things, including Fraser Island.

They had spent several days on the island and would spend several more. Darcy was really enjoying the easy pace of the trip. They were seeing some wonderful things, taking time to both have fun and relax. Today they were checking out the Champagne Pools. She'd been curious about it simply because it appeared to be beautiful in pictures, it was even better when they got there. Her oldest kids went right for swimming and playing around the pools. The five-year-olds and nearly four-year-olds approached with care, but with the tide lower, the waves weren't crashing over, so they could walk around and explore a bit. Steve and Bucky each had a one-year-old strapped to their chests, and the two-year-olds were to keep close to a grown up at all times.

Steve had the hands of both Izzie and Pete, while Bucky had Little Stevie's hand with Natty within reach, though the two-year-old girl with the slightly reddish tint to her hair, like the Auntie she was halfway named after, technically her name was Nathalie, but she got called Nat, just like Auntie Nat. JJ had hold of Darcy's hand and seemed to be approaching with the most care, though he was clearly amazed with the whole venture.

"Hey, Doll, there's little fish in the pools!" Steve called out. He and Bucky were both taking a look at a spot it seemed a couple of the older kids found first.

"Really? That's so cool!" Darcy looked down at JJ. "Want to see if you can see a fishy?"

JJ nodded and they made their way over. They all had specially designed water shoes for walking around on the rocks. Shuri had set everyone up with them. It definitely helped, Darcy would have been nervous for her kids and herself walking around without them, the rocks were wet, and some were a bit rough. Wading in, Darcy was eyeing the water where Ellie was neck deep and bouncing on her toes.

"Look, Mama, there's fishies!" Ellie's hand under the water pointed at small dark moving, swimming things.

"Can you see the fish, JJ?" Bucky was holding Stevie to his side, while Natty sort of floated while holding onto his arm.

"Oh, wow!" JJ almost leaned right into the pool pointing at the fish. Darcy hoisted him up and went in a little further so he could get closer.

"That's so cool. Little fishies." Darcy loved how excited the kids seemed to be, and she understood because she thought the little fish were pretty existing simply as their own thing.

"I think it's even cooler than the whale we saw the other day, because we're right next to the fish." Ellie scooted closer to Darcy while pointing at the fish in the water.

"I think the whale was pretty amazing. It might be a little intimidating being this close to a whale. It's huge. But the fish are so little, you almost have to be this close to really appreciate them." There was a real whale watching tour planned for a few days after they finished their Fraser Island tour. They'd seen some swimming around the day before offshore from the island though, and Darcy was rather wowed by it.

"That would be scary. Whale is too big to be so close to." Ellie then went under the water to have a better look at the fish.

"Fishies?" One of the nearly four-year-olds, Chloe, was standing as close as she could get while keeping her head and shoulders above water.

"Yeah, Baby, there's some fish in the water. You want to try to see?" Steve shifted the two-year-olds a bit, managing to hold them both with one arm, so he could offer the other to Chloe. Even the two-year-olds could swim, but because this was next to the ocean, they had stressed to the kids that they be extra cautious. And even in the pool, the kids weren't supposed to swim without grown-ups around.

Chloe grabbed onto Steve's hand and used it to help herself stay above water while she looked into the water. "I see fishies! They're so cute and little!"

Darcy smiled. As she glanced from Steve to Bucky, they were smiling too. It was one of those silent moments when they just looked at each other and shared the moment.

"Why don't we have a place like this near home?" Nicky was sitting on the rocks near where Ellie was bobbing up and down in the water looking at the fish.

"You mean natural pools at the coast like this?" They'd taken the kids to a few beaches that they seemed to recall, but none were quite like this one.

"Yeah, all rocky with pools." Nicky nodded before poking his toe in the water and pulling it back.

"There are beaches near to home with big rocks as well as sand. Though sometimes it's one or the other. Like in The Hamptons, it's mostly sandy there. But even when there is a combination, they don't always form just right to create a pool like this. It is really cool though. Nature likes to make things unique. So even similar things are not exactly the same." She wasn't entirely sure how to answer, she didn't know if maybe there was a spot closer to home that had something similar, nor did she know just how such a thing formed.

"Like me and Bruce?" Nicky smiled when he mentioned his identical twin brother. Most of Darcy's multiples had at least variation enough that they were clearly fraternal. But Nicky and Bruce, and the sisters born with them, Livy and Ruby, appeared and tested as identical. They did have differences in their personalities and mannerisms, and as they grew, Darcy noticed little things like slightly different placement of a freckle or mole that became a give away to her on which twin was which.

"Yes, like you and Bruce." Darcy smiled as Steve and Bucky chuckled a little at their son.

"Do you want to come in, Nicky?" They had far more kids than hands as parents, but Bucky saw Nicky eyeing the water, though the boy hadn't yet actually ventured into it.

"Maybe. Can you hold me up?" Nicky was a good swimmer, but he seemed cautious about the rocky natural pools. In a regular pool, he was good to just jump in.

"You can find a spot to grab onto me when you get in." Bucky would have held Nicky, but he didn't have enough hands.

Nicky appeared to be pondering the idea when Heimdall sat down next to him. "Would you like help in?"

"Yes, please?" Nicky stood up and waited for Heimdall to be ready.

Heimdall hopped carefully into the pool, mostly so as not to disturb any aquatic life, then reached out to Nicky. The little boy hopped into Heimdall's arms before swimming around a little and then hovering near his helper. Heimdall just smiled and kept nearby in case any child wanted to use him to hang onto for a bit.

"Thank you." Darcy smiled. Heimdall had seemed intimidating when she'd first met him. Though that hadn't lasted long as she got to know him and found him very warm and kind. Considering he could see everyone all the time if he wished, he seemed to have a great sense of respect for others privacy, but great compassion for helping those who needed aid. He simply smiled and nodded at her thanks, which somehow made her smile even more.

Steve and Bucky smiled as well, glad for all the help that everyone gave. They really did have a whole village to help raise their kids, they all did. And it made it all the better. They all glanced over when they heard laughter from some of their other kids as they played in the next pool with Peter, Shuri, and Ned, who were all graduated from college now. Peter was a full-fledged Avenger, even taking on leadership roles. Shuri was brilliant as ever, and was an icon to girls all over the world. And Ned, he was working in R&D at The Compound now. The ultimate 'Guy in the Chair' as he liked to call himself. Little eight-year-old Becca was sitting on the rocks looking at the ocean beside Cassie Lang, who was now nineteen and in college, as well as showing a lot of interest in being an Avenger herself. Becca had been following Cassie most of their trip so far, something of a shadow to the older girl. Darcy had asked Cassie to let her know if it became too much or she needed a break from the girl, but Cassie seemed to love having a little shadow.

All three parents could see the two-year-olds getting restless. They'd seen the fish, now they wanted to actually play.

"I can take them up to the sand, if you like." Heimdall no longer had an all the time posting, he kept watch all the time from wherever he was. Usually, he kept near to wherever Thor was, so as to keep his king informed.

"You wouldn't mind?" Steve loved how helpful everyone was, he had gotten much better at actually taking help after the kids were born. It took children to make him really feel like it was okay to not be able to handle absolutely everything by himself, all the time. It was a hard habit to break though, to make sure the person really was totally willing to help, that it wasn't placing undue burden upon them.

"Not at all." Heimdall smiled, offering hands to the little ones who climbed on and he carried all four of them out of the water and up to the sand where Little Bruce and Audrey were playing alongside where Big Bruce and Erik sat chatting in the sun.

It left them with Ellie, Chloe, and Nicky swimming around and sometimes grabbing onto one of them for a bit to help them float, and the two one-year-olds who seemed to just be chilled out watching everything from their fathers' chests. It gave Steve and Bucky the chance to each slide an arm around Darcy and breath for a moment while they watched their kids enjoying this amazing place.


	12. Favorite Place on Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 12 Prompt: Favorite Place on Earth
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed the crazy. :)

After a somewhat hectic year, summer at Lake George was what everyone needed. Tony had bought up a small compound there some years back but had only actually used it once in the winter for a little getaway for him and Pepper. So it seemed a good time to get some more use out of the place. There was one incident a couple of weeks earlier that had required a few of the heroes to be dispatched to tend a minor skirmish with some wannabe supervillains, but they were back at The Lake in just a few days.

The kids had wanted to have a 'campout', so they set up a bunch of tents on the grass facing the lake and a bunch of the adults were sleeping outside as well. Jane and Erik had even brought out the telescopes so they could see some stars. It was a nice clear, warm night and with only a smattering of lights around the lake, it was great conditions for stargazing. All the kids were excited by looking through the telescope, as well as roasting marshmallows around the fire pit.

"I love this place! It is the best!" Ruby stopped in front of the oversized lounger her three parents were sharing, her sister, Olivia just behind her.

Darcy was cuddled between Steve and Bucky, she loved that spot. "I'm glad you kids are having fun."

"I love this place too. I think it's one of the best getaways." Bucky had enjoyed all of their vacations over the years. The lake was just the right mix for him, he'd really enjoyed Maui though also. The Hamptons was nice, but too stuffy a lot of the time. The lake was calmer but still had lots of fun things to do.

Ruby shifted, and they could tell their daughter wanted to cuddle. Steve never said no to cuddles from his kids and Ruby sank right into his open arms. Olivia followed, sitting mostly on Steve, but leaned into Darcy a little. She looked up at the stars, then at her parents. "It's so pretty out here. I like being able to look up at the stars at night. This might be my favorite place on Earth."

"Really, very favorite?" Darcy smiled, brushing her fingers through her daughter's hair.

"I think so." Livy nodded.

"Me too." Ruby added, her head resting on Steve's shoulder.

"What are your favorite places?" Livy looked from parent to parent, curious.

"You know, I think my favorite place on Earth is wherever you all are. You kids, and your fathers, and our family of friends." She saw the smile on Steve's face and hummed softly as Bucky nuzzled his nose in her hair.

"My family is definitely my favorite place. Wherever this family is, that's where I want to be, always." Bucky didn't say it very loudly, his nose brushing her cheek.

"I like that. Can that be my answer too?" Livy decided it was better than any specific place.

"Of course you can, Baby." Bucky leaned to kiss Livy's cheek and got arms thrown around his neck. He chuckled and just pulled his daughter close. Livy's feet were still on Steve's leg, and her legs crossed Darcy's lap, but her body was now in Bucky's lap.

"What about you, Dada?" She looked over at Steve.

"I'm with Mama and Papa on this one. Wherever you all are, that's my favorite place on Earth." Ruby smiled up at Steve and he grinned, squeezing her while leaning in to steal a little kiss from Darcy.

Darcy was more than happy to get a little kiss from either of her husbands. She didn't mind having a couple of her kids wanting to cuddle either. It was nice to sit back though and have most of the kids entertained. Her older kids, the sextuplets and Ruby and Olivia's twin brothers, Nicky and Bruce, were making s'mores while Sam, Clint, and Natasha made sure no one burned themselves. Her nearly five-year-old triplets were clustered around the telescopes with Jane and Erik, and a couple of the other children. The three-year-old quints were rolling in the grass with Scott, Peter, and Thor, while Loki of all people had her two-year-old twins, and a few other kids, mesmerized with a story. And he didn't appear to be using magic of any kind. It sort of reminded Darcy of the beginning of the Lord of the Rings movie and the way Gandalf had all the Hobbit children amazed. She wasn't worried for two reasons, Loki had been little more than amusingly mischievous ever since the spell that got everyone pregnant, and Heimdall was sitting close by observing Loki and the children. Heimdall was going to sit outside by the campout all night and keep watch, in case of wild animals, strange people, or small children waking and wandering in the night. While Heimdall was delightfully soft with the children, and they had no fear playing with him, he had a firm tone when he wanted to, and all the children seemed to stop dead in their tracks when Heimdall got serious. Darcy loved it.

"I wish there were more campout nights." Ruby spoke up again.

"Well, we could probably have a couple more campout nights before the end of the summer." Bucky shrugged, he didn't want to say for sure, in case the rest of the adults were done with the idea after once. But it seemed like everyone was having fun, even the adults.

"Could we?!" Ruby sat up a little more and bounced in Steve's lap.

Steve chuckled, pressing a kiss to Ruby's cheek as she grinned. "I think that's probably something that can be done. This is a pretty fun night."

"Can we only have them at The Lake?"

"I don't know, we might be able to have one at home, at The Compound if there's good weather and not a school night. We'll have to see though." Darcy knew not to make promises without talking to everyone.

"Maybe, we'll discuss that one once we get home. But I think we can manage to arrange at least one more before the summer ends here." Steve thought it sounded like a nice idea, but everyone on the team would have to be okay with it, and it would have to not interfere with the compound operations. But the property was large enough, they could probably find a suitable space to pitch some tents and have a campout.

"Okay." Ruby nodded, appearing to understand. 

Two of the nine-year-olds wandered up, E and AJ. "Can we sleep under the stars instead of in the tents?"

"I don't see why not, it's pretty warm out and you have sleeping bags. Plus, Heimdall will be watching, so you can't get up to much trouble." Steve chuckled and the boys nodded but smiled before glancing at Darcy and Bucky.

Bucky nodded his approval quickly. "Why not, sounds like fun."

"I'm fine with that." Darcy figured it was best for the littlest ones to be in tents with adults, but the five and over crowd, she was okay if any of them wanted to sleep outside. If Heimdall wasn't there to keep watch, she may have worried a bit, but as long as he was on duty, she had confidence they were all safe from any common Earthly threats, and even most uncommon otherworldly ones.

"We'll stay out here to help Heimdall keep watch as well." Hogun spoke and all three of the Warriors Three nodded.

"Then there's even less reason to worry." Darcy smiled, she always enjoyed Thor's friends. It was still funny though, seeing them not in armor and such. They didn't always join in the summer outings, but they'd come along this year, and Volstagg had even brought along his own children, who seemed to be curious to learn all about Midgard and how its children have fun. The Lake seemed to be agreeing with everyone.

"Mama? Can we sleep under the stars too?" Ruby had started thinking about it when her brothers asked, and she'd seemed to decide it sounded like fun.

"Yes, any of my children five years of age or older can sleep outside by the tents if they wish. But you stay close, only leave the tent area to go inside the house, and make sure adults know that's where you're going and why. And if Heimdall or one of the Warriors Three ask you to be quiet, or stay where you are, or to go inside because there's an animal or something, you do what they say." Darcy knew her kids were good about listening, not only her and Steve and Bucky, but all the adults of the extended family. But she figured in a case like this, it was worth repeating.

The four kids who were standing or sitting there listening nodded. Bucky then added in, because he was always conscious about if his kids changed their minds in the middle of something of doing whatever he could to help them bail out, even if it wasn't an opportune moment to change one's mind. Yesterday, Olivia had changed her mind about going river rafting once they were already on the river and rafting. She hadn't expected the water to move so fast or for it to be so bumpy and she got nervous. They couldn't really just jump out, but he'd pulled her close and she just held onto him for the rest of the ride. Even seemed to enjoy it by the end, once she felt secure. "And if anyone changes their mind, you can come inside one of the tents, or even go back into the house for the night, just let the grown-ups know what you're doing so we know where you've gone."

There were more nods and Olivia shifted, hugging Bucky. Perhaps she was recalling the day before as well. Darcy felt very lucky with all her kids. They were pretty well behaved and thoughtful kids. None of them were defiant. A few liked to test the boundaries, but whenever she or Steve or Bucky got serious about something, they stopped pressing the matter. She had a feeling Olivia had been a bit unsure about the rafting yesterday to begin with, but because the other three of the quads were excited and ready to go, Olivia felt like she should go too. The kids didn't pressure each other, but sometimes the less sure ones followed along anyway.

E and AJ hugged and kissed each parent before running back to the fire pit and the s'mores.

"I want to have a s'more too." Ruby looked at Steve.

"Go get one then. If you need help, ask a big sibling." Steve would have gotten up to help but at six, he liked to encourage them to do as much as they could themselves, and then have them get help from the other kids, if possible. He thought it was good for all of them.

Ruby nodded and kissed Steve before getting up and waving at Olivia to come with. "Thanks, Dada."

Olivia was slower to get up, squeezing Bucky long and hard one more time before kissing Darcy and Steve's cheeks and following her sister.

"Should we be concerned that Livy is just following Ruby around lately?" Steve saw a lot of the kids developing strong ideas of their own, and even if they weren't headstrong leader types, perhaps like he was, they at least seemed to have a strong sense of not doing something they didn't want to.

"I don't know, not yet. She probably wants a s'more, just maybe wanted to stay here and cuddle a little longer before s'mores. And I think she was curious about the rafting, she had fun in the end. But she loves her sister, she wants to do the things she does. And sometimes Ruby gets herself in over her head and Olivia bails her out, like last week with the tree climbing. She got up in the tree but then wasn't sure how to get down. Good thing Olivia was nearby to get someone to help. Sometimes you headstrong punks need someone watching their backs." Bucky grinned at Steve and reached behind Darcy to give Steve a poke.

Steve chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, keep rubbing it in, ya jerk." Even as kids, he could see where some of them were taking more after one parent or another, and perhaps Ruby did have a little bit of his personality, and maybe Olivia was a bit more like Bucky. He supposed that was good though, then they'd be sure to be best friends for life.

Darcy just laughed at the guys ribbing each other. It was still adorable after all those years. "I think she's probably fine. But we'll keep an eye on it. As long as she's not following into anything she really doesn't want to do, it's okay. We could always pull her aside tomorrow and just check in with her, make sure she's having fun and getting to do the things she wants to do too, and not just the things her sister wants to do."

"I like that idea. And asked that way, she gets the chance to maybe pick an activity, without feeling like we're over worried." Steve wanted to make sure she was okay, but didn't want her to feel like they were overly worried about her either. That kind of thing could stress kids out. His own mother had tried to keep a strong face, but he could tell sometimes growing up that she was very worried about him. When he was in ill health, or even when he was feeling better. He'd heard her once talking to a friend about how worried she was about how he'd ever manage on his own. It had worried him that his mother worried so about him. And it was probably part of why he worked so hard to do everything on his own, along with the fact that he didn't have a lot of people besides his mother and Bucky growing up. But he didn't want his kids worrying because they got concerned about something that might be nothing at all.

Darcy ran her hand through Steve's hair and he sighed, leaning into her touch. She reached for Bucky's hand and got his arms curling around her instead. "If it weren't for the toddlers, I'd just say we should fall asleep right here tonight."

Both men chuckled, softly and near her ears. "Probably should have some keepers in the tent zoo with the little ones." Bucky actually thought their kids were pretty good, but a bunch of two and three-year-olds alone in a tent sounded like it was probably asking for trouble.

"Probably." Steve nuzzled just in front of Darcy's ear and kissed right below it.

Darcy made another humming sound. "When is our designated alone day on this trip again?"

"Next week." Steve would have had that committed to memory even if he didn't have an eidetic memory.

"Any chance we can sneak a moment before then?" Bucky had more or less wrapped himself around Darcy.

"I guess we'll have to find out." Darcy giggled, she was definitely anticipating that day, and she would take any moment she could.

"Dada, Mama, Papa! Want a s'more?" Sarah came up holding a paper plate with three s'mores on it.

"Oh, yes, thank you. Mama never turns down chocolate or marshmallows." As long as the s'mores were on offer, and they weren't in any place to do more than cuddle and kiss anyway, Darcy wasn't passing up a s'more break.

The guys both chuckled, fully aware of the foods their wife couldn't say no to. They'd possibly used those things to their advantage in the past.

Steve picked up a s'more, with a smile. "Thank you, Sweetie."

"Ooo, looks yummy. Love you, Sarah." Bucky shifted a little and released Darcy a bit so they could eat, though he kept one arm around her.

"Love you, Papa." Sarah reached to hug Bucky and he managed to squeeze her and hang onto his s'more without making a mess.

Steve gave Sarah a smile. "Can Dada get a hug too?"

"Yes!" Sarah ran around the other side of the lounger and hugged Steve too.

"Thank you, Sarah." Steve watched her skip back to the fire pit before looking back at Darcy and Bucky. "Definitely my favorite place ever."

Steve and Bucky kind of squeezed Darcy between them in a group hug before anyone got to finish their s'mores.


End file.
